West Tennessee Twins Receive Cochlear Implants In Groundbreaking Surgery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dec. 17, 2004

Memphis, Tenn. - When west Tennessee twins Keanon and Kyle Dill came into the world together 18 months ago, they shared more than just good looks. The identical twin boys were also deaf. This week, they marked a new milestone together when a Memphis ear specialist surgically implanted cochlear devices that should allow the twins to detect sound for the first time.

UT Medical Group, Inc. neurotologist Dr. Bruce MacDonald, who performed the surgery at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, believes it is the Mid-South's first cochlear implant surgery on identical twins of such a young age and one of only a handful in the U.S.

"Cochlear implants bypass the damaged part of the ear by sending sound signals directly to the auditory nerve," said MacDonald. "While implants do not restore the ability to hear normally, they do enable the ear to detect the sensation of sound and help the child to develop speech."

During the surgery, a cochlear device was implanted in one ear of each child. The device will be turned on and programmed in about five weeks, when an audiologist at the Memphis Oral School for the Deaf will fit the twins with a microphone and speech processor.

"These implants have enormous benefits to young children because the development of speech relies heavily on the ability to hear," said MacDonald. "When a very young child receives an implant, it facilitates the learning process. The younger the child, the greater the potential benefit."

The sons of Huntingdon residents Staci and Tony Dill, the twins were diagnosed with severe hearing loss when they were about 10 months old. Each boy was also found to be blind in one eye.

"Right now, Keanon and Kyle work with a speech therapist once a week in our home, but next fall they'll attend preschool five days a week at the West Tennessee School for the Deaf in Jackson," said Staci. "We hope that the implants will help them with their speech and learning so that by the time they are ready to start kindergarten, they can be mainstreamed into a regular school."

Half of the more than 20,000 Americans who have cochlear implants are children. Studies indicate that children who are fitted with an implant by age three and one-half are more likely to develop age-appropriate speech and learning than those who undergo surgery at a later age.

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