title: Conversion of traditional osseointegrated bone-anchored hearing aids to the Baha®attract in four pediatric patients.
abstract: Bone-anchored hearing aids are external devices attached to the skull via a titanium implant, and can be used for multiple types of hearing loss. Traditionally, osseointegrated implants have been coupled to the external processor with a percutaneous abutment, but more recently, a fully implanted, transcutaneous magnet-based system has become available. Skin reactions from the percutaneous portion are a common complication that can prevent use of the device during critical windows of language development and learning in children. We describe our experience replacing the Baha®abutment system with the Baha®Attract in four pediatric patients. Specific operative considerations for incision placement, and magnet and implant coverage are discussed. All patients maintained osseointegration, had excellent long-term wound healing without post-operative infection, and were able to wear their devices more consistently.
authors.affiliation: UCSF Department of Otolaryngology, University of California, San Francisco, 2233 Post Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94115-3470, USA. Electronic address: Elizabeth.Cedars@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cedars
authors.affiliation: UCSF Department of Otolaryngology, University of California, San Francisco, 2233 Post Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94115-3470, USA. Electronic address: Dylan.Chan@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Dylan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: UCSF Department of Otolaryngology, University of California, San Francisco, 2233 Post Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94115-3470, USA. Electronic address: Anga.Lao@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Anga
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lao
authors.affiliation: UCSF Department of Otolaryngology, University of California, San Francisco, 2233 Post Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94115-3470, USA. Electronic address: lkhardies@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hardies
authors.affiliation: UCSF Department of Otolaryngology, University of California, San Francisco, 2233 Post Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94115-3470, USA. Electronic address: Anna.Meyer@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: UCSF Department of Otolaryngology, University of California, San Francisco, 2233 Post Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94115-3470, USA. Electronic address: Kristina.Rosbe@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rosbe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016348:Osseointegration; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D053441:Suture Anchors
keywords: Baha attract; Bone-anchored hearing aid; Pediatric hearing loss; Transcutaneous