East Jefferson General Hospital and Children's Hospital new home for LSUHSC cochlear implant program

Louisiana leads nation in designating October as Cochlear Implant Awareness Month

Metairie - East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH), Children’s Hospital and LSU Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) have brought a cochlear implant program back to the New Orleans area. The implant program became dormant after Hurricane Katrina due to the lack of a medical facility at which to perform the surgeries. After a two-year hiatus, cochlear implantation surgery is now being performed on adults at EJGH and on children at Children's Hospital.

Cochlear implantation is a surgical treatment that restores hearing in patients, allowing them to function more easily in society. Dr. Herbert Marks, senior surgeon and EJGH Otolaryngologist, and Dr. Moisés Arriaga, medical director of the implant team, are giving those who are severely hard of hearing the ability to hear.

"Losing the program for two years was heartbreaking," Dr. Marks says. "East Jefferson and Children's Hospital agreeing to partner with us is a great community service. I am really excited to be back and believe this is a tremendous step forward for the entire city."

Patients benefit greatly from receiving a cochlear implant. Instead of relying on lip reading or sign language to communicate, the potential to hear and speak improves their quality of life. After implantation, speech and language therapy is a crucial component to the success of the procedure.

"Performing a cochlear implant surgery is by far the most gratifying thing I do," Dr. Marks says. "I get to take someone who is deaf, and help them to hear, perhaps for the first time ever. It is amazing to have the ability to change someone's life in that way.

Dr. Marks and LSUHSC were pioneers of the technology and continue to be leaders in the field. LSUHSC was at the forefront of clinical testing which lead to FDA approval, and the team has performed more than 200 cochlear implants since their first surgery in 1984. The Communication Disorders Clinic at LSUHSC is the only clinic in Louisiana with the resources to program all three types of manufactured cochlear implants.

At LSUHSC, Dr. Arriaga is professor of the department of otolaryngology—head and neck surgery and Dr. Marks is clinical professor. Other members of the team are Dr. Daniel Nuss, chairman, and Tammy Crabtree, audiologist and clinical instructor in the Department of Communication Disorders at the School of Allied Health.

“We at LSU Health Sciences Center are grateful to East Jefferson Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Foundation, and The Cochlear Corporation for the funding and support to get the program up and running again,” Dr. Nuss says. “A milestone in our recovery, the resurrection of this life-changing surgery was built upon the partnership of these institutions.”

For more information, contact Dr. Herbert Marks at 504-455-3434.