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Updated: Apr 18, 2026
Author Spotlight: Advancements in Impedance Monitoring for Cochlear Implant Surgery
Published on: August 4, 2023
Experience in cochlear reimplantation. Descriptive study of a 20-year period
Andrés Gutiérrez-Salazar1, Constanze Cop1, Ángel Osorio-Acosta1
1Departamento de Otorrinolaringología y Patología Cérvico-Facial, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular-Materno Infantil, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España.
Insights
Cochlear reimplantation is a safe procedure with a 6.16% rate. Technical device failure is the most common reason for cochlear implant removal, followed by infection and device upgrades.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Surgical Innovation
Background:
- Cochlear implantation rates, particularly in pediatrics, have risen due to early diagnosis and expanded indications.
- Active medical devices like cochlear implants carry inherent risks of performance failure, necessitating removal.
- Understanding the specific causes of cochlear implant removal is crucial for improving patient outcomes and device reliability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causes of cochlear implant removal in a specific patient cohort.
- To compare the observed causes of explantation with findings reported in existing medical literature.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective, descriptive, observational study was conducted.
- Data from 859 cochlear implant surgeries performed between October 1991 and May 2011 were analyzed.
- Causes for implant removal were categorized using the European Consensus Statement on Cochlear Implant Failures and Explantations.
Main Results:
- The cochlear reimplantation rate was 6.16% (51 out of 859 surgeries).
- Technical device failure was the primary reason for removal (45.5%), followed by infection/rejection (23.6%) and device upgrade (12.7%).
- Less frequent causes included electrode misplacement, labyrinthine ossification, head trauma, need for MRI, and psychiatric illness.
Conclusions:
- Cochlear reimplantation is a safe procedure with a low complication rate.
- The overall reimplantation rate at this center is 6.16%.
- While technical device failure is the leading cause, a notable proportion of reimplantations are for device upgrades.
Introduction And Objectives:
The cochlear implant is a surgical procedure that has increased substantially, because the paediatric population is diagnosed and implanted early and because there are increased potential indications. This device has the inherent risk of failure in performance, as dies any active medical device, which is the most common cause of implant removal. Our goal was to understand what the causes that produced removal in our series were, and confirm if these conformed to reality as reviewed in the literature.
Methods:
This was a retrospective, descriptive, observational study of 859 cochlear implant surgeries carried out between October 1991 and May 2011. The causes of implant removal were classified according to the European Consensus Statement on Cochlear Implant Failures and Explantations.
Results:
The reimplantation rate was 6.16% (n=51). The most common reason for removal was technical device failure (45.5%), followed by infection/rejection (23.6%) and upgrade (12.7%). Less common causes: there were 3 cases (5.6%) of electrode misplacement, 2 cases (3.6%) of labyrinthine ossification, 2 (3.6%) as a result of head trauma, 2 (3.6%) from need for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and 1 case (1.8%) from psychiatric illness.
Conclusions:
Cochlear reimplantation is a safe procedure, with a low complication rate. In our centre, it reaches an overall rate of 6.16%. Technical device failure remains the most common cause of this procedure, although there is a significant percentage of reimplantation for device update.
