Westchester Medical Center pioneers robotic procedure to help those with severe hearing loss

People with severe hearing loss now have access to a game-changing procedure that uses robots, thanks to work that is being done at Westchester Medical Center.

The center is the first in New York to complete a cochlear implant procedure with a new Food and Drug Administration-approved Robotic Assisted System.

Doctors say it is a more controlled procedure that aims to reduce the risk of damage to the inner ear.

That can also mean preserving a patient’s residual hearing.

“I think for patients, it’s actually been a game-changer… we know that if we decrease trauma and scarring, the patient actually functions better with their implant long term,” says Dr. Katrina Stidham, medical director of the Westchester Medical Center Cochlear Implant Center.

Stidham says the robot arrived a couple of months ago and she has already completed seven procedures with hopes to do dozens more this year.