Surgical complications of pediatric auditory brain stem implantation in patients with narrow internal auditory canal following retrosigmoid approach

Abstract

Cochlear implants (CI) have been used successfully in auditory rehabilitation of congenitally deaf children as well as children with severe cochleovestibular abnormalities. However, there are limited benefits of using CI in deaf patients who have narrow internal auditory canals (IAC). CI in this population has poor outcomes due to associated aplasia or hypoplasia of the cochlear nerve [1]. Auditory brain stem implantation (ABI) has been used to treat post-lingually deaf patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 since 1979 [2]. Recently, ABI has also been extended for use in non-tumor patients, which has shown successful results in adults [3] and has now been established as an effective surgical procedure [4–8]. Thus, ABI is a relatively safe procedure, as there is no increase in postoperative complications related to surgery or device implantation. The use of ABI in pediatric patients was recently pioneered by Colletti et al. [9]. Bilateral labyrinthine aplasia, cochlear aplas