Surgery and bioengineering unite to fight childhood deafness: Naples hosts the first Italian center using robots and 3D printing to restore hearing to children.
Naples – At the intersection of medicine and technology, the future of pediatric otology surgery speaks Neapolitan. Santobono-Pausilipon Hospital is now the leading center in Italy for the number of pediatric cochlear implants performed using robotic surgery, an achievement that combines engineering precision and clinical humanity in the fight against childhood deafness.
Leading the Otolaryngology Unit is Antonio Della Volpe, the first Italian otosurgeon to have implanted robot-assisted cochlear implants on young patients with profound hearing loss. "We perform about 80 implants every year," explains Della Volpe. "The systematic use of robotics allows us to insert the electrode with consistent delicacy and a precision impossible to achieve manually. It's a revolution that will change the future of our children."
Robots and 3D printing: tailor-made surgery for every little patient
Santobono-Pausilipon, the regional referral center for pediatric cochlear implants in Campania, uses cutting-edge tools that combine robotics and bioengineering.
Alongside the robotic system, funded by the National Research Council (NRRP), the team uses a 3D printer capable of reconstructing in detail the anatomical structures of the ear—the temporal bone and cochlea—using the child's radiological images.
This step allows surgeons to plan the procedure as needed, assessing in advance the optimal positioning of the robotic arm and the ideal angle for electrode insertion. This "tailored" approach reduces risks and ensures increasingly personalized results.
"3D printing," Della Volpe emphasizes, "allows us to know the anatomy of each patient's ear in advance and simulate the surgery.
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Over 50 interventions with robotic technology
Santobono has been using the robotic system steadily for two years, having already performed over 50 procedures. The device, capable of replacing the human hand in the most delicate movements, eliminates involuntary micromovements and increases visibility in the most complex areas of the inner ear.
In addition to improving prosthetic surgery, this technology also paves the way for “two-handed” endoscopic surgery, which is still not very widespread in Europe due to its complexity.
Conenna: "Investing in technology is investing in the medicine of the future."
"Investing in the most advanced technologies," comments Rodolfo Conenna, general director of the Santobono-Pausilipon Hospital, "means investing in the medicine of the future. Our goal is to offer increasingly specialized and personalized care, attracting patients not only from Campania, but from across the country."
With an average of dozens of young patients operated on each year and a growing number of requests from outside the region, the Neapolitan hospital confirms its position as a national benchmark for the treatment of childhood deafness, a symbol of an innovating South that restores a voice—and hearing—to those who have never known it.
Comments (1)
This article is very interesting and illustrates how technology can help solve serious problems like childhood deafness. It's important that there are more centers like this in Italy to give children hope.