The first patient to undergo the procedure was a 35-year-old male who lost his hearing after a car accident devastated his middle ear. Due to the nature of his trauma, the operation lasted about an hour and a half, according to Legit.

In a celebratory press release issued by the South African Department of Health, Tshifularo is quoted as explaining:

We will use titanium for this procedure, which is biocompatible. We use an endoscope to do the replacement, so the transplant is expected to be quick, with minimal scarring.

Tshifularo told local radio station Jacaranda FM: This was one of our patients we have been waiting for, for this reconstruction for almost three years now because they are not affordable [but] we have done something new in the world and people will remember us for that.

It will be very accessible because as long as we can train the young doctors to be able to do this operation, then it will be accessible for them as well.

For Tshifularo innovate or perish sums up his approach to medical science both in terms of education, research, invention, and clinical procedures, and also in terms of devising new solutions to the array of problems faced by struggling communities.

He hopes that he and his team at the university's Department of Otorhinolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat) will receive the necessary funding from the government and private sponsors to ensure that this innovative approach to hearing loss treatment can get off the ground.

South African Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi has already pledged that the Department of Health will do everything in our power to assist and mobilize resources to make sure that Prof. Tshifularo gets all the help he needs for this far-reaching innovation.

Source: Pharmatimes