Paediatric auditory brainstem implantation: The South Asian experience

Paediatric Auditory Brainstem Implantation (ABI) is indicated for children with congenital cochlear aplasia, absent/hypoplastic vestibulocochlear nerve, for whom cochlear implantation is not possible. Knowledge of the anatomical landmarks and variants in anatomy of the brainstem is vital for ABI surgery.

Study was done at Auditory implant centre in Madras ENT research foundation, which includes 24 children who had undergone ABI surgery and are being followed up for 1 year, post operatively. Aims were to study the anatomical variants and the outcomes of ABI implantation. To determine if different anatomical variants effect placement of ABI electrode. To assess the patient outcomes by Categories of auditory Performance (CAP) scores and Speech Intelligibility Ratings (SIR) scores.

All the candidates showed gradual improvement in audiological and verbal outcomes after the ABI. The mean CAP and SIR scores after 6 months of AVHT were 2.07 and 1.37 respectively. After 1 year of auditory verbal rehabilitation therapy CAP was 3.42 and SIR was 2.33. Flocculus of the cerebellum can be of different grades. Though, there was difficulty in insertion of the electrode in subjects with anatomical variants, the outcomes were comparable with other subjects.

ABI surgery involves frequent anatomical variations surrounding the lateral recess which makes the positioning of the auditory prosthesis difficult. Variants during the surgery can make the placement of ABI electrodes difficult, but promising results were seen all the implantees.