Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Clinical performance of children following revision surgery for a cochlear implant
Jose N Fayad1, Laurie S Eisenberg, Melinda Gillinger
1House Ear Institute, 2100 West Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90058, USA. jfayad@hei.org
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to describe the causes for revision surgery and to compare clinical performance before and after surgery in children who required electrode reinsertion.
Study Design And Settings:
Soundfield thresholds and speech recognition scores were compared before device failure and following electrode reinsertion. Temporal bones from a deceased adult implant user who underwent bilateral revision implantation were analyzed.
Results:
Histopathology in the adult temporal bones revealed new bone formation in the scala tympani and substantially reduced spiral ganglion counts, with open-set speech recognition realized. Of 28 children undergoing revision surgery, 18 required electrode reinsertion. With the exception of 1 patient with severe cochlear malformation, new electrode arrays were fully inserted without difficulty. Clinical outcomes between pre-device failure and post-electrode reinsertion did not differ statistically.
Conclusion And Significance:
Electrode reinsertion is technically feasible in the pediatric population. The majority of children recover their prerevision clinical performance.
Ebm Rating:
C-4.