Cochlear implant failure due to unexpected absence of the eighth nerve--a cautionary tale.
We present a case of bilateral absence of the eighth cranial nerve in the internal auditory meatus (IAM). This caused total failure of responses after cochlear implantation in a six-year-old patient with congenital deafness. Pre-operative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is important to show not only the anatomy of the middle and inner ears but also the structures in the IAM.
Gray
R F
RF
East of England Cochlear Implant Centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
Ray
J
J
Baguley
D M
DM
Vanat
Z
Z
Begg
J
J
Phelps
P D
PD
D002648:Child; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000151:congenital* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D017211:Treatment Failure; D000159:Vestibulocochlear Nerve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology