title: Experience with vibroplasty couplers at the stapes head and footplate.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report on experiences with implanting the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) coupled to the stapes head using a new Clip-Coupler or to the stapes footplate using a new OW-Coupler (CliP- or OW-Coupler Vibroplasty).
  
  
  METHODS
  Single subject, repeated measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two university hospital ENT departments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen German-speaking patients from 2 European study sites were implanted with either a CliP-Coupler or OW-Coupler attached to a VSB floating mass transducer (FMT). They were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively for bone and air conduction thresholds with and without the implant, as well as speech perception tests.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measuring the efficacy and safety of OW- and CliP-Coupler-Vibroplasty as a method to treat mixed hearing loss.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bone conduction thresholds remained stable preoperatively and postoperatively. The patients' average speech perception performances at 65/80 dB (HL) increased from 0.8/13.8% to 63/82%. The pure tone audiograms showed an average improvement in air conduction thresholds after implantation with the VSB of 25 dB at 0.5 kHz to 50 dB at 4 kHz.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  OW- or Clip-Coupler-Vibroplasty using couplers was found to be a straightforward procedure, which produced good results in this group of patients.
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen-, Ohrenheilkunde des Universitätsklinikums Carl Gustav Carus der TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany. thomas.beleites@uniklinikum-dresden.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beleites
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neudert
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Beutner
authors.forename: Karl-Bernd
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Hüttenbrink
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zahnert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001844:Bone Conduction; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D046089:Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural / Q000601:surgery*; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009998:Ossicular Prosthesis; D019933:Ossicular Replacement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013067:Speech Perception