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Updated: Jun 20, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Bilateral simultaneous cochlear implantation in children: our first 50 cases
James D Ramsden1, Blake C Papsin, Randy Leung
1Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. james.ramsden@orh.nhs.uk
Insights
Bilateral simultaneous cochlear implantation in children is safe, with no increased complications compared to single implants. This approach reduces overall surgical time and hospital stay versus sequential bilateral procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Auditory Implantation Science
Background:
- Bilateral cochlear implantation (CI) offers potential benefits for pediatric hearing rehabilitation.
- Assessing the safety and efficiency of simultaneous bilateral CI is crucial for surgical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the safety and surgical technique of performing bilateral simultaneous cochlear implantation in children.
- To compare outcomes of simultaneous bilateral CI with sequential bilateral CI and unilateral CI.
Main Methods:
- Prospective case series of 50 consecutive simultaneous bilateral CI in children at a tertiary pediatric hospital.
- Comparison of surgical times, complications, hospital stay, and medication use with a historical cohort of sequentially implanted children.
Main Results:
- Simultaneous bilateral CI showed no significant difference in complications, hospital stay, or need for analgesia/antiemetics compared to unilateral CI.
- Simultaneous bilateral CI resulted in reduced cumulative surgical time and hospital stay compared to sequential bilateral CI.
Conclusions:
- Bilateral simultaneous cochlear implantation is a safe procedure in children.
- This technique does not significantly increase surgical time or hospital stay compared to unilateral procedures, offering an advantage over sequential bilateral implantation.
Objectives/Hypothesis:
To assess the safety and surgical technique of bilateral simultaneous cochlear implantation in children.
Study Design:
Prospective case series at a tertiary academic pediatric hospital.
Methods:
Surgical times, complications, and patient outcomes are reported from the first 50 consecutive simultaneous cochlear implants performed at the Hospital for Sick Children between 2005 and 2008. These results were compared to the same measures in a group of sequentially implanted children consecutively implanted from 2001 to 2008.
Results:
The group of children receiving simultaneous bilateral cochlear implants showed no difference in complications, length of hospital stay, or use of analgesia and antiemetics compared with children receiving single implants. The simultaneously implanted children had a reduced cumulative surgical time and hospital stay than is required for bilateral implantation performed sequentially.
Conclusions:
Bilateral simultaneous cochlear implantation in this series of children was safe and required no significant increase in surgical time and hospital stay compared with unilateral procedures.
