We all like to come in first because it means we’ve won the race. But being the first to receive an innovative treatment at the Surgery Center at Mt. Zion was a greater life-changing experience than any race for Vicki Johnson.
Vicki is the first patient to undergo surgery to receive a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid, or Baha, at the Surgery Center at Mt. Zion. The Baha works through a small titanium implant surgically set into the skull, behind the ear, to which a sound processor is attached. The sound processor uses bone conduction – to transmit the sound through the skull and bring it to an otherwise functional inner ear – to help the person hear.
For Vicki, receiving the Baha is a triumphant end to a long, slow journey. For so long, she suffered from unexplained ear infections. Only after she requested a referral from her primary care physician did she meet Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist, Dr. Jeffery Kunkes of the Surgery Center at Mt. Zion. Dr. Kunkes found a tumor in Vicki’s right ear, the cause of all the ear infections and illnesses, and helped her find a physician to remove the tumor.
While the tumor was successfully removed, Vicki completely lost hearing in her right ear from the surgery. It is at this point that Vicki met Dr. Danko Cerenko, otologist, ear surgeon, credentialed to perform surgeries at the Surgery Center at Mt. Zion. She learned about Baha from him.
“The Baha sound processor allows Vicki to once again hear from both sides of her head, making sound clearer and more distinguishable from background noise,” says Dr. Cerenko.“ Allowing the ‘full hearing experience’ is the goal when implanting the Baha in patients with deafness in one ear. Baha helps the patient hear from the "deaf" side of the head, which is necessary for an individual detect the source of sound, something that is not possible with only one ear."
“Terrible is how I would describe life before the Baha treatment,” says Vicki. “I couldn’t hear on my right side.If I was driving, it was hard to speak with passengers in my car, or determine where a siren was coming from so I could get out the way. When in a crowded place, like a restaurant, background noise would get in the way of conversation. And, I’m a receptionist – I need to be able to communicate with people effectively.”
Since the Baha procedure, Vicki’s life has made a remarkable turn. She no longer has the issues mentioned above, she communicates better with family and coworkers, and her soundperception has vastly improved.
The Surgery Center at Mt. Zion started offering the Baha treatment in May 2007, and is the only outpatient surgery center in the Southern Arc performing this procedure. Vicki’s story is just one example of how the Surgery Center is transforming lives through innovative health care.
