Unusual complication following trauma to a bone-anchored hearing aid: case report and literature review.
OBJECTIVE
We report the second published case of a child with a serious traumatic injury involving the fixture and abutment of their bone-anchored hearing aid.


METHODS
Case reports and review of the world literature concerning unusual complications following trauma to bone-anchored hearing aids.


RESULTS
A nine-year-old girl with Dubowitz syndrome sustained an intrusion injury of her bone-anchored hearing aid fixture and abutment following a fall. No other injury was sustained, and there was no neurological complication. The patient underwent immediate removal of the implant and subsequently made a full recovery. Such serious and unusual complications are fortunately very rare. On review of the literature, four cases of similar complications were identified. Only one involved a traumatic injury in a child.


CONCLUSIONS
Provision of bone-anchored hearing aids involves many clinicians. All clinicians involved in this procedure must be aware of the need to monitor their patients carefully, and to remember that unusual and unexpected complications, although rare, do happen. The patient's need for care continues long after the surgery is complete.
McDermott
A-L
AL
Department of Otolaryngology, The Princess of Wales Children's Hospital, Birmingham, UK. annlouisemcdermott@msn.com
Barraclough
J
J
Reid
A P
AP
D000058:Accidental Falls; D002648:Child; D020878:Device Removal; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000209:etiology*; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000293:injuries*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology