title: Blood flow measurements in the ears of patients receiving cochlear implants.
abstract: We measured cochlear blood flow in 12 patients who received cochlear implants, using a laser-Doppler probe with an outer diameter of 0.8 mm. The subjects had congenital deafness, idiopathic progressive sensorineural hearing loss, Waardenburg's syndrome, narrow internal auditory canal, or sudden deafness. Putting the probe tip to the site of drilling for cochlear implantation, we measured blood flow before, during, and after the cochlear bony wall was opened. The laser-Doppler output was confirmed even after the tip of the probe was inserted into the perilymphatic space in all cases. Our results revealed that blood flow was maintained in all cochleas, although there was a probability of reduction in blood flow volume. We conclude that laser-Doppler flowmetry is both relatively safe and useful for measuring blood flow in the ears during cochlear implantation procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.forename: Michihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sone
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tominaga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003051:Cochlea / Q000098:blood supply*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000151:congenital / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000601:surgery; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014849:Waardenburg Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery