Mashudu Tshifularo: African Doctor Who Cured Deafness

Who says the African man is not exceptional?

The story of this South African doctor says more about the unique abilities of the African man.

Mashudu Tshifularo is a South African surgeon who blazed the trail in the first-ever transplant of the middle ear which allowed a deaf man to hear.

Prior to 2019, there was no known cure or treatment for deafness around the world.

But thanks to the innovative use of 3D printing technology and the brilliance of the South African surgeon, the world is now open to a process of curing hearing disabilities.

Tshifularo who is also a pastor replaced the damaged bones of the ear of a thirty-five-year-old patient which went dead after a car accident damaged his inner ear.

The surgeon, a professor at the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Health Sciences and his medical team performed the surgery at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in less than two hours.

Speaking on the surgery, Tshifularo explained that, “the team created a replica of the anvil, hammer, stirrup, and ossicles, which make up the inner ear, with similarly-shaped titanium pieces produced on a 3D printer”.

“They then successfully transplanted the replacement into the ear.“

“By replacing only the ossicles that aren’t functioning properly, the procedure carries significantly less risk than known prostheses and their associated surgical procedures. We will use titanium for this procedure, which is biocompatible. We use an endoscope to do the replacement, so the transplant is expected to be quick, with minimal scarring.”

He added that the technique could be the cure for hearing defects irrespective of the patient’s age.

“The patients will get their hearing back immediately but since they will be wrapped in bandages, only after two weeks, when they are removed, will they be able to tell the difference,” Tshifularo said.

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The University of Pretoria in its reaction to the groundbreaking moment explains the procedure “may be the answer to conductive hearing loss, a middle ear problem caused by congenital birth defects, infection, trauma or metabolic diseases.”

As Tshifularo said, “3D technology is allowing us to do things we never thought we could, but I need sponsors and funding for this invention to take off the ground.”

Olaitan Oye-Adeitan