UPDATE: The Minimally Invasive Ponto Surgery (MIPS) procedure has now received FDA clearance and will soon be available in the United States.
Ponto surgery with tissue preservation has been done for a few years now. Also, many physicians use a “punch” incision with this technique. What this new MIPS surgery and surgical items provide are the first tools designed specifically to support and advance these great techniques with the aim at making it easier and more safe for patients to get the best possible results.
An excited 15-year-old, Karina Theoret, shared her story about getting an abutment for her bone anchored hearing system (BAHS) with a new surgical procedure, Minimally Invasive Ponto Surgery (MIPS). When she stepped into the operating room at the Montreal Children’s Hospital last week, she was more excited than nervous. Karina has been deaf in her right ear since she was born. Soon, she’ll be able to hear with a bone anchored hearing system.
Because Karina is the first person in North America to undergo surgery with this new technique, her story was captured and shared by CTV News Montreal, and you can view it below.
“This is like a breakthrough because in the past we used to do them all under general anesthesia. They had to make an incision in the skin to expose the bone,” said Dr. Sam Daniel from the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
MIPS offers a further refinement of bone anchored hearing surgery (BAHS) for use with the Ponto System.
“The development of MIPS is inspired by the long-term success of the tissue preservation technique,” said Oticon Medical President Jes Olsen. “For patients and surgeons, tissue preservation is one of the most important surgical advances in hearing implants for the excellent patient benefits it provides including quicker surgery, shorter healing time and less numbness and pain. With the introduction of MIPS, we continue our commitment to providing innovative solutions that will further improve patient outcomes now and in the future.”
Karina tried out wearing a BAHS on a headband to see if there would be an improvement before opting in for the Ponto surgery. If you’re interested in seeing if a bone anchored hearing system could be right for you, click below and we can connect you with a local hearing professional.