Held at Mumbai-based Jaslok hospital, Dr Sandra Desa Souza convened organized an international symposium on Cochlear implantation, wherein many eminent doctors working in the field delivered lectures. The main highlight of the event was the live surgical demonstration of Cochlear implantation. Deaf children and adults who cannot be benefitted from hearing aids were provided with the implants at the symposium.

A Cochlear implant is an electronic device, the internal component of which is implanted during the surgery while the external component is later worn on the body as the speech processor. With the implant, children who are born deaf can hear and be taught to speak, while patients who became deaf after acquiring speech are given hearing and can continue living normally.

At the two-day event, a series of lectures were delivered by eminent doctors on various topics in the field of Cochlear implantation. To back up the series, the hospital had organized a live surgical demonstration by Dr Jacques Magnan, showing an exposed facial nerve, facial rescess on the second day of the event. The patient operated on, was Mr Om Deokate, with a posterior tympanotomy and cochleostomy to introduce the device.

Dr Dillon D'souza operated on a patient, Ms Riddhi Bagadkar using the Inverted Veria technique and Cochleostomy without exposing the facial nerve and Dr JM Hans operated on Mr Jafin Sheikh using a minimally invasive Veria technique.

Dr Sandra Desa Souza arranged for the funds for the implants, the surgical and hospitalization costs. All the patients are doing well after the surgery.

Dr Sandra Desa Souza, director, ENT Jaslok Hospital and ENT Consultant at Breach Candy and Desa's Hospital, was the first woman surgeon in the world to pioneer the Cochlear implant surgery in India and Asia in 1987.

The program ended with a valedictory function and certificates were distributed to the delegates.