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Updated: Dec 24, 2025
Robotic Cochlear Implantation for Direct Cochlear Access
Published on: June 16, 2022
Simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation in children aged 12‒18 months is safe and can be performed using
Zhiqiang Gao1, Suju Wang2, Hua Yang2
1Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, No.1 Shuaifuyuan, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China. talllee@sina.com.
Purpose:
Simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation is often seen as the gold-standard intervention for many people with bilateral deafness. However, this intervention is not as commonly performed in China. This paper presents the surgical technique and the peri- and postoperative safety results from simultaneous bilateral implantation and compares them with those from sequential bilateral implantation.
Methods:
Twenty nine children (aged 12‒18 months) met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and took part in this study. 10 participants received a unilateral cochlear implantation; 19 participants received simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation. The same standard surgical technique (transmastoid facial recess approach with round window insertion) was used in all implantations. Safety was assessed via monitoring peri- and postoperative adverse events. The helpfulness of select surgical tools was assessed via questionnaire.
Results:
No adverse events were reported for any participants. All queried surgical tools were helpful in all 244 recorded responses.
Conclusion:
Simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation can be performed using the same surgical technique as unilateral implantation and poses no increased safety risk for children aged 1‒2 years.
