Cuba Hosts Congress on Ear, Nose and Throat Medicine

Havana, Jun 27. -The 8th Congress of the Cuban Society of Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat Medicine) begins Monday in this capital with a master lecture on the results of a regional program for the hearing impaired.

Issues such as experiences in endoscopic sinonasal surgery, oncology, and ear afflictions are also the focus of discussion by delegates from Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba and Portugal.

Tuesday´s sessions will be devoted to topics such as hearing loss and cochlear implants, areas in which Cuba has achieved important success.

About 224 cochlear implant operations have been carried out in Cuba, 216 of them on children, local experts stated.

The cochlear implant is an electronic mechanism used to improve hearing perception in people with severe deafness, in cases where conventional hearing aids do not work.

The technique is very expensive, not only because it features cutting-edge technology, but also because the implant costs 20,000 USD.

This service and other public health services are free in Cuba. (Prensa Latina)