title: The new Baha implant: a prospective osseointegration study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess stability of a new-design titanium implant (Cochlear Baha BAI300) in bone-anchored hearing aid (Baha) recipients over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective case series with planned data collection at a tertiary care institution. Twelve patients who underwent Baha surgery over 12 months were analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients (3 children, age range 6-10 years, mean 7.7 years, median 7.3 years; 9 adults, age range 34-73 years, mean 52.8 years, median 48 years) underwent the 1-stage procedure following the standard Brånemark technique. In all procedures, the single-skin incision was applied.
  
  
  METHODS
  The stability of the implant was measured with implant stability quotient (ISQ) measurement tests. All patients were tested at surgery and every week after for 1 year. Wound-healing time, degree of soft tissue reactions around the abutment, and need for revision surgery were examined. Two-tailed Student t test and χ(2) for all comparisons were calculated; P < .05 values were considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The new implant showed a steep increase of ISQ values over the first 2 weeks and reached stable ISQ values 3 weeks after surgery. Complete skin healing time was obtained in 8 days on average (range, 7-12 days; median 7.6 days). Neither implant extrusion nor skin revision surgery was observed in our patients during the first year of follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This new implant revealed stability and fast integration. The data from the present study suggest the new implant may be suitable for early loading protocols.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Vicenza Civil Hospital, Vicenza, Padova, Italy. riccardo.deredita@ulssvicenza.it
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: D'Eredità
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caroncini
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saetti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016348:Osseointegration; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D053441:Suture Anchors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome