A deaf girl aged 7 dies by cochlear implant.

Just got a email about this yesterday, and it happened so many years back. Believe the story did say that the litle girls death "MAY" have been caused from not being vaccinated....Was it ever proven?

Anyhow, both the parents and the doctors are at fault, IMO....an invasive surgery such as the CI....everything should be double-checked and even checked again to make sure everything is in order.
 
Angle1989 said:
You can't even get your dog groomed without up-dated shot records. The groomer won't touch them until all shots are up to date. They check on it all the time. I think if a patient does not do their prep work done doctor should refuse surgery.
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I guess they are doing to protect themselves from rabies, etc. Good idea on a doctor refusing to do surgery if the patient didn't do the prep work.
 
Steel X said:
This absolutely has nothing to do with the CI. It is pretty much the mother's fault for forgetting her own daughter treated...totally careless.
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From what I remember, Cochlear, Inc. had to do a recall. Or was it a different company? Anyway, the problem was that the area they dug into to make room for the cochlear implant to go into, there were too much of a gap. So as a result, it allowed fluids and such to invade the space and result in a severe infection.
 
rockin'robin said:
Just got a email about this yesterday, and it happened so many years back. Believe the story did say that the litle girls death "MAY" have been caused from not being vaccinated....Was it ever proven?

Anyhow, both the parents and the doctors are at fault, IMO....an invasive surgery such as the CI....everything should be double-checked and even checked again to make sure everything is in order.
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Agreed. A doctor should never be in such a hurry to perform an elective surgery that he/she does so under conditions that increase the risk to the patient. And parents should always make sure that they are not putting their child at increased risk.
 
Banjo said:
From what I remember, Cochlear, Inc. had to do a recall. Or was it a different company? Anyway, the problem was that the area they dug into to make room for the cochlear implant to go into, there were too much of a gap. So as a result, it allowed fluids and such to invade the space and result in a severe infection.
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Yes, I remember the details now that you bring it up. And the parent certainly could not be aware of that additional risk until after the surgery. The physician should have informed the parent after surgery, however, that there was something unusual about this placement.

If I recall correctly based on your prompting, this was a problem that was seen only in pediatric implantation, too.
 
This is an old thread, and I can't remember the exact timeline, but there was a period of time when the vaccine was not available. What a thing for a parent to ponder, whether to implant early to give significant performance advantage with the implant, or to wait on the vaccine. I can't recall the exact statistic, but the risk wasn't overwhelmingly large compared to the general population. Yes it was statistically significant, but it wasn't double the risk or anything like that.

It was explained to us that there was a positioner device that was used when the electrode was being placed into the cochlea. They think the positioner device created micro-cracks that allowed bacteria to eventually enter, which could cause meningitis. We were told that the positioner devices are no longer used. This fact and the requirement for vaccination bring the meningitis risk down to what is seen in the general population.
 
Still...the moral of this story. A cochlear implant is not a necessary surgery and there was no need for it. The poor girl could have been alive today.
 
Canuckian_Chick said:
But the thing I don't get it is how did the child get into school without being vaccinated?? as it's a mandatory here to be vaccinated before pre-k... this child is 7 years old... it doesn't make sense at all.. and also the doctor did a poor job as well not checking to see if she's been vaccinated as it should be in her records... still it doesn't make sense, that just me...
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I do not think meningitis vaccines are mandatory . It may be in some states , I know people are talking about making it mandatory .
 
All of the colleges in my state now require it from incoming freshmen. The first meningitis vaccination is recommended 11-12 and a booster in 5 years. I always follow the AAP guidelines. My kid just got his booster.
 
LTHFAdvocate said:
Also, if the source of your hearing impairment is meningitis, your risk of re-contracting meningitis whether or not you get implanted is also way higher than the general population.
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Are you sure about this? How do you know? I asked a Dr. and he told me the chances were LESS.
 
Bon said:
Are you sure about this? How do you know? I asked a Dr. and he told me the chances were LESS.
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anytime you've contracted something your chances of contracting "it" again are higher...not lower

i'm in nursing btw
 
Medical conditions that increase the risk of meningitis include:

Poor overall health. People who are in poor health or have other medical conditions may be more likely to get meningitis because their bodies' natural defenses may be weak. For example, children who have sickle cell disease or cancer are at higher risk than other children.
Having a birth defect of the skull, a head injury, or brain surgery.
Having treatment with a kidney dialysis machine.
Having other infections, such as upper respiratory infections, mumps, tuberculosis (TB), syphilis, Lyme disease, and illnesses caused by herpes viruses.
Having a cochlear implant for severe hearing loss. Studies indicate that children with cochlear implants have an increased risk for bacterial meningitis.5, 6
Being born to a mother infected with an organism that causes meningitis. Viruses such as the enteroviruses and herpes viruses, and some bacteria can be passed from an infected mother to a baby during birth.
Having had meningitis in the past. Some people who have had meningitis are more likely than others to get it again. These include people with birth defects or injuries to their skull and face, impaired immune systems, or unexpected reactions to some medicines.
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Meningitis-What Increases Your Risk
 
I have higher chances of getting meningits again. I had it twice in the space of a few weeks. It happened before (approx 2/3 years before) I had the CI op, the CI Doc advised us to have the vacc and will refuse to operate anyone who aren't Vacc againist meningits.
 
Chicken pox (varicella) stays dominant in the body. You can get shingles later, which is very painful. Shingles consists of painful skin lesions and malaise. If the shingles occurs your head, it's called Ramsey Hunt Syndrome, which causes hearing loss.
 
my hub just got vaccainned a while ago again since he had a ci about 6 yrs ago. I forget what kind of vaccaine was it. I didnt know that ci users need to get vaccaines from time to time.
 
The vaccine only works on Viral meningitis, It does not protect you from the bacterial meningitis like some people get from open skull surgery.
 
LTHFAdvocate said:
There is a fairly common genetic disorder called Pendred's Syndrome which features a combination thyroid issues and sensorineural hearing loss. Boystown lists it in the top five sources of profound SNHL. Have you been checked for that? I don't think it is the thyroid that *causes* the HL, just that the two are associated. Course I'm not the doctor at our clinic . . .

Sheri
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deafskeptic said:
I have. I don't have Pendred's Syndrome. There is a history of thyroid disease in my family and it seems to affect mostly the females in my family.
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Everyone else with thyroid disease in my family are hearing. My mother and my big sister had to take thyroid meds for a t while. My niece Laura and I have to take thyroid for the rest of our lives. My vestibular system isn't affected at all. I seem to be much better at balancing myself than the average hearing person.
 
CSign said:
With the exception of Chicken Pox?
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No, actually it is the chicken pox virus that causes shingles. You can have had chicken pox, get exposed to the herpes simplex virus again, and end up with shingles.
 
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