Objectives

This study investigated the long-term postoperative spontaneous formation of a bone bed in pediatric cochlear implant patients for whom no bone bed was drilled during the surgery.

Methods

A cross-sectional observational study of skull thickness under and on the edges of the cochlear implant receiver/stimulator in children with computed tomography (CT scan) ≥6 months after implantation was performed. In total, 37 pediatric patients from a single tertiary center underwent cochlear implantation without bone bed drilling and with screw fixation of the receiver/stimulator.

Results

The patients were on average 36.2 ± 20.5 months at implantation (range 8–96 months). At the time of the CT scan, the average duration of implantation was 25.3 ± 17.9 months (range 6–91 months). The average depth of the bone bed that formed spontaneously since implantation was 1.83 ± 0.39 mm (range 0.39–3.04 mm). Linear regression identified that the depth of the bone bed increased significantly with duration of implantation (β = 0.389, p = 0.009), but age at implantation was not associated with bone bed depth.

Conclusions

A spontaneously formed temporal bone bed was observed in pediatric CI patients already six months after implantation. A deeper bone bed was measured in children who have had their CI for a longer period. A spontaneously formed bone bed is likely to combine the benefits of a surgically drilled bone bed, whilst limiting the duration of the surgery and thereby associated costs.

中文翻译：

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儿科人工耳蜗植入中的自发骨床形成与植入时间有关

目标

本研究调查了在手术过程中未钻骨床的儿科人工耳蜗患者术后长期自发形成骨床的情况。

方法

对植入后 6 个月以上的计算机断层扫描 (CT 扫描) 儿童的人工耳蜗接收器/刺激器下方和边缘的颅骨厚度进行了横断面观察研究。来自一个三级中心的 37 名儿科患者总共接受了人工耳蜗植入术，无需进行骨床钻孔，并使用螺钉固定接收器/刺激器。

结果

患者在植入时平均为 36.2 ± 20.5 个月（范围 8-96 个月）。在 CT 扫描时，植入的平均持续时间为 25.3 ± 17.9 个月（范围 6-91 个月）。自植入后自发形成的骨床平均深度为 1.83 ± 0.39 mm（范围 0.39–3.04 mm）。线性回归发现骨床深度随植入时间显着增加（β = 0.389，p = 0.009），但植入年龄与骨床深度无关。

结论

在植入后六个月的儿童 CI 患者中观察到自发形成的颞骨床。在具有较长时间的 CI 的儿童中测量到更深的骨床。自发形成的骨床很可能结合了手术钻孔骨床的优点，同时限制了手术的持续时间，从而限制了相关的成本。