Cochlear reimplantation after surgery for electric-acoustic stimulation.
OBJECTIVE
Combined electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) of the auditory system usually results in better speech understanding than electric stimulation only, assuming low-frequency hearing can be preserved. Treatment options and outcomes for 4 subjects experiencing compromised hearing after EAS surgery are discussed.


METHODS
Each subject underwent revision surgery to replace the original 21-mm electrode arrays used in EAS surgery with cochlear implants (CIs) with 31-mm arrays. Our aims were: (1) to investigate whether deeper insertion is possible, and (2) to evaluate the influence of electrode insertion angle by comparing speech perception scores before and after revision surgery.


RESULTS
Deeper insertion was feasible in all subjects. Speech understanding scores after reimplantation were comparable to those seen after the first intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
A 360-degree insertion under EAS conditions provides sufficient speech understanding, even in cases of additional hearing loss. Reimplantation with a longer electrode array is feasible in former EAS patients.
Helbig
Silke
S
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, DE-60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. silke.helbig@kgu.de
Helbig
Matthias
M
Rader
Tobias
T
Mack
Martin
M
Baumann
Uwe
U
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010898:Pitch Perception; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012086:Reoperation / Q000379:methods*; D013067:Speech Perception; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed