A young girl from Stratford will not have to go through life without the ability to hear, thanks to a ground-breaking surgical procedure performed for the first time in Canada.
When Savannah Lee was born in January 2023, her parents, Danny and Jacquelyn, were told she would never be able to hear. The diagnosis was devastating, but the little girl's parents did not give up hope. They took her to Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) where she underwent testing and consultation with a surgical team led by otolaryngologist Dr. Demir Bajin. It was determined Savannah was a candidate for a paediatric auditory brainstem implant (ABI) on the right side of her head.
The four-hour surgery involved bypassing the ear and placing the implant directly into Savannah’s brain, in the section controlling her breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital systems.
"We were told that if this was five years ago, Savannah would have to go through life without hearing,” said Danny. “But Dr. Bajin was preparing to do this ground-breaking procedure right here in London. The bottom line was it could potentially give her the gift of sound, so we said yes.”
The operation was performed in July 2024, making the year-and-a-half-old the first child in Canada to receive the treatment.
One month after the surgery, the implant was successfully activated.
“Words can’t describe how emotional and overwhelming it was being there and watching her face as the device was turned on,” said Jacquelyn. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, my baby can hear.’”
At the end of last year, Savannah received a second implant on the left side of her head giving her what is describes as the “best of both worlds" as she can now localize sounds, hear better in noisy environments, and experience improved audibility.
“This technology is a game-changer,” said Dr. Bajin. “It feels amazing to be able to provide a solution for children like Savannah who would otherwise never be able to hear, and I’m confident her case will pave the way for other kids across Canada to access this same technology in the future.”
Dr. Bajin and his team have since completed North America’s first paediatric robotic cochlear implant surgery. The procedure, done in February 2025, uses a specialized robot to place the device in people with hearing loss from the damaged cochlear structures. The implant bypasses the damaged parts of the inner ear and directly stimulates the cochlear nerve with electrical signals.