Surgical outcomes after cochlear implantation in children with incomplete partition type I: comparison with deaf children with a normal inner ear structure.

Abstract

To compare audiologic performance after cochlear implantation (CI) in children with incomplete partition (IP) Type I and age-matched children with normal cochleae. Retrospective chart review. Academic center. Twenty-three children (25 ears) with IP Type I and 230 age-matched deaf children (230 ears) with nonsyndromic normal inner ears who underwent CI between January 2000 and June 2013. The Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) Scale score and the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) score. The mean age of IP Type I patients at the time of CI was 5.3 years (standard deviation, 5.4 yr; range, 0.9-17.7 yr). The mean duration of follow-up was 4.7 years (standard deviation, 3.5 yr; range, 1.1-11.2 yr). Fourteen of the 25 IP Type I ears (56%) had cerebrospinal fluid gusher during the cochleostomy. In the IP type ears, the number of inserted electrodes was 16.3 ± 3.2 (range, 11-22), and the insertion angle was 236.5 ± 41.2 degrees (range, 180-305 degrees). The cochlear nerve was assessed in 17 of the 25 IP type ears, and hypoplasia was present in nine (53%). Facial nerve stimulation occurred in 15 of the 25 IP type ears. IP Type I patients younger than 3 years at CI had significantly lower CAP Scale and MAIS scores than age-matched controls at 12 and 24 months after CI, but similar CAP Scale and MAIS scores as age-matched controls at 42 and 72 months after CI. IP Type I patients aged 3 to 18 years at CI had similar CAP Scale and MAIS scores as age-matched controls at all post-CI time points. Children with IP Type I who underwent CI performed as well as children with normal cochlea in the long-term.