Children who underwent cochlear implantation with the team of doctors at the celebration of 20th anniversary of CLIPS in Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research in the city on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ
It was a heartwarming moment when K. Karthick Kalyani stood alongside Lieutenant Colonel A. Ravikumar, founder of Cochlear Implant Program of SRIHER (CLIPS), two decades after he performed her cochlear implant surgery.
Dr. Ravikumar recalled that the cochlear implantation was performed on January 21, 2006, when Ms. Kalyani was three years old and pointed to a newspaper photograph that captured the two of them together a few days after the surgery.
Ms. Kalyani, who is pursuing a post graduate degree, was the first cochlear implant patient at Sri Ramachandra. On Tuesday, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) celebrated the 20th anniversary of CLIPS, with around 180 children who had received cochlear implants participating in the event, a press release said.
Dr. Ravikumar, director of Chennai ENT Research Centre, said that technology has improved a lot, and implants are more powerful now. Cochlear implants alone are not enough as training and therapy is crucial, he added.
Through CLIPS, more than 300 children have been benefited. There was a multidisciplinary team involving ENT surgeons, audiologists, speech and language therapists, anaesthesiologists and rehabilitation specialists, the release said.
S. Prasanna Kumar, head, Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, SRIHER, said that the cochlear implantation programme was started 20 years ago to bridge the gap between silence and the world of sound.
Uma Shanker, president, Indian Montessori Centre, Bangalore and director, Indian Montessori Training Courses, Chennai, said that every child is unique and should be given the help and the support needed. “According to Montessori philosophy, we are here to serve the child,” she said.
A booklet covering questions frequently asked by parents including on hearing loss, difference between hearing aid and cochlear implants, prerequisites for surgery, the procedure, care after surgery, rehabilitation and therapy, and school readiness was released on the occasion.
Uma Sekar, vice chancellor, SRIHER and Prakash Boominathan, principal, Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology were present.
Published – January 21, 2026 05:30 am IST
