MERF Achieves Landmark 100th Auditory Brainstem Implant, Reinforces Leadership in Advanced Hearing Restoration
Chennai, 21 January 2026: The Madras ENT Research Foundation (MERF) has achieved a significant medical milestone by successfully completing its 100th Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI), reaffirming its position as Asia’s earliest and largest centre for this highly specialised hearing restoration procedure. (L to R) Prof. Dr. Mohan Kameswaran, Managing Director and Consultant ENT Surgeon at MERF; Prof. Ranjith Rajeswaran, MD, Chief Audiologist and Speech Language Pathologist at MERF Institute of Speech and Hearing ; Dr.M.C.Vasudevan, Chief Neurosurgeon, VHS Hospital MERF performed its first Auditory Brainstem Implant in 2004 on a 13-year-old girl who had lost her hearing due to tumours affecting the auditory nerve on both sides of the brain. The Foundation went on to perform its first ABI in a child in 2009. Since then, MERF has completed over 100 ABIs, making it the largest series in Asia and one of the largest in the world. Notably, the procedure can be safely performed...