Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Performing Intracochlear Electrocochleography During Cochlear Implantation
Published on: March 8, 2022
Cochlear device explantation in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer irradiation
Wai Tsz Chang1,2, Iris H Y Ng1,2, Xiaoxin Chen1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
Objectives:
Cochlear implantation (CI) is feasible for hearing rehabilitation in post-irradiated patients with profound sensorineural hearing loss. Complication especially explantation in patient with history of irradiation is a concern. The study aimed to investigate the incidence and cause of cochlear device explantation in between nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC)-related irradiation when compare with adults without.
Methods:
This was a retrospective multicentre case-control study, which conducted on adults who underwent CI between 1994 and 2024. The rate, reasons and time after implantation of cochlear device explantation, and reimplantation rate were compared.
Results:
A total of 1067 ears (122 ears of NPC and 945 ears of non-NPC) were included in the study. The explantation rate was significantly higher in NPC group with a percentage of 7.38% compared with 2.01% in non-NPC group (p < 0.001, OR = 3.908). There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the causes of explantation (p > 0.05). Among all the infected ears, 50% of them were infected by skin bacteria.
Conclusions:
This multicenter study presents regional data on post- CI explantation in patients with NPC after radiotherapy. While explantation rates were four times higher in the NPC group, no single definitive cause beyond prior radiation exposure could be identified.
