Impact of occlusive material and cochlea-carotid artery relation on eustachian tube occlusion in subtotal petrosectomy.

Objective: To evaluate the success rate of eustachian tube (ET) occlusion in subtotal petrosectomy relative to the occlusive material used and to the varying protympanum anatomy, by means of standardized alignment of the cochlea-carotid artery relation on computed tomography images.

Patients And Methods: All cases of subtotal petrosectomy carried out by the same surgeon at a tertiary care referral center were retrospectively evaluated. Only cases with available computed tomography prior to second stage cochlear or middle ear implantation were included.

Adverse events associated with bone-conduction and middle-ear implants: a systematic review.

Purpose: To review types and frequencies of adverse events (AE) associated with bone-conduction hearing implants (BCHIs) and active middle-ear implants (aMEIs) as reported in the literature.

Methods: Cochrane, PubMed, and EMBASE libraries were searched for primary articles in English or German language that reported on adverse events following BCHI or aMEI implantation, included at least five patients and were published between 1996 and 2016. Study characteristics, demographics, and counts of adverse events were tabulated and analyzed within the R statistical programming environment.

Minimal Reporting Standards for Active Middle Ear Hearing Implants.

There is currently no standardized method for reporting audiological, surgical and subjective outcome measures in clinical trials with active middle ear implants (AMEIs). It is often difficult to compare studies due to data incompatibility and to perform meta-analyses across different centres is almost impossible. A committee of ENT and audiological experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland decided to address this issue by developing new minimal standards for reporting the outcomes of AMEI clinical trials.

The Impact of Two-Stage Subtotal Petrosectomy and Round Window Vibroplasty on Bone Conduction Thresholds.

Objective: To evaluate possible increases in bone conduction (BC) hearing thresholds in patients undergoing subtotal petrosectomy (SP) with fat obliteration and blind sac closure of the outer ear canal and subsequent round window vibroplasty.

Patients And Interventions: Between 1997 and 2013, 43 patients (45 ears) with combined hearing loss and recurrent chronic otitis or status post formation of a radical cavity underwent SP around 6 months prior to implantation of a Vibrant SoundbridgeTM. Pure tone audiograms (0.

Comparison of Audiological Results Between a Transcutaneous and a Percutaneous Bone Conduction Instrument in Conductive Hearing Loss.

Objectives: In conductive, mixed hearing losses and single-sided-deafness bone-anchored hearing aids are a well-established treatment. The transcutaneous transmission across the intact skin avoids the percutaneous abutment of a bone-anchored device with the usual risk of infections and requires less care.In this study, the audiological results of the Bonebridge transcutaneous bone conduction implant (MED-EL) are compared to the generally used percutaneous device BP100 (Cochlear Ltd.

Impact of the surgical wound closure technique on the revision surgery rate after subtotal petrosectomy.

The objective of the study was to examine the impact of the surgical wound closure technique as protection of the obliterated tympanomastoid cavity on the revision surgery rate after subtotal petrosectomy (SP). This is a retrospective case series conducted in a tertiary care referral center. 199 patients (212 ears) with recurrent chronic otitis media underwent SP followed by tympanomastoid obliteration with abdominal fat at a single tertiary referral center between 2005 and 2015.

Indication of direct acoustical cochlea stimulation in comparison to cochlear implants.

The new implantable hearing system Codacs™ was designed to close the treatment gap between active middle ear implants and cochlear implants in cases of severe-to-profound mixed hearing loss. The Codacs™ actuator is attached to conventional stapes prosthesis during the implantation and thereby provides acoustical stimulation through a stapedotomy to the cochlea. Cochlear implants (CIs) on the other hand are an established treatment option for profoundly deaf patients including mixed hearing losses that are possible candidates for the Codacs™.

Subtotal petrosectomy and Codacs™: new possibilities in ears with chronic infection.

Subtotal petrosectomy combined with obliteration of the tympanomastoid is a standard procedure to treat temporal bones in patients with radical cavity and chronic infections. Currently, patients with profound-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss are often fitted with cochlear implants. In the case of profound mixed hearing loss, active middle ear implants have been used successfully.

Long-term results of incus vibroplasty in patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss.

Objectives: The principal aim of this study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of the middle ear implant Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) in patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss up to a mean (± standard deviation) duration of 11.1 ± 2.1 years (min.

Retrospective audiological analysis of bone conduction versus round window vibratory stimulation in patients with mixed hearing loss.

Objective: To compare audiological outcomes in mild-to-moderate mixed hearing loss patients treated with a bone-anchored hearing aid or an active middle-ear implant. Analysis aimed to refine criteria used in preoperative selection of implant type.

Design: Retrospective comparative analysis of audiological data.

Comparison of two different titanium couplers for an active middle ear implant.

Objective: To compare surgical methods, functional gain, and speech discrimination using two different coupling methods for an active middle ear implant. Of several couplers enabling placement of the active element at various locations, two function directly at a cochlear membrane, bypassing a missing or malformed ossicular chain. This study evaluates whether either of these methods is more beneficial.

Round window stimulation with the floating mass transducer at constant pretension.

Objective: Mechanical stimulation of the round window (RW) of the cochlea is successfully done with the Vibrant Soundbridge (Med-El), but clinical outcomes show a substantial degree of variability. One source of variability is variation in the static force applied by the stimulator to the round window (Maier et al., 2013).

First clinical experiences with a direct acoustic cochlear stimulator in comparison to preoperative fitted conventional hearing aids.

Objective: Patients with moderate-to-severe mixed hearing losses (MHLs) are hard to provide sufficient benefit with currently available conventional hearing aids. Here, the long-term safety of a direct acoustic cochlear stimulator (DACS) and the effectiveness compared with conventional "high-performance" hearing aids were investigated.

Study Design: Prospective, within patient reference, nonrandomized, interventional multicenter clinical study performed at these 3 centers: Medical University Hannover, University of Heidelberg, and Helios Hospital Krefeld.

Multicenter study with a direct acoustic cochlear implant.

Objective: To confirm the clinical efficacy and safety of a direct acoustic cochlear implant.

Study Design: Prospective multicenter study.

Setting: The study was performed at 3 university hospitals in Europe (Germany, The Netherlands, and Switzerland).

Do we really need a Coupler for the round window application of an AMEI?

Objective: Implanting active middle ear implants (AMEI) at the round window has become a standard procedure to restore hearing for patients with moderate inner ear or mixed hearing loss. The round window (RW)-Coupler was developed as an alternative coupling aid to fit smaller RW diameters and require less drilling in the RW niche. The question arises whether using the RW-Coupler is useful and a safe procedure compared with the nonuse of the RW-Coupler

Materials And Methods: Forty-nine German-speaking patients were implanted with either a RW-Coupler attached to an AMEI floating mass transducer (FMT) or without coupler.

The effect of static force on round window stimulation with the direct acoustic cochlea stimulator.

The Direct Acoustic Cochlea Stimulator Partial Implant (DACS PI, Phonak Acoustic Implants SA, Switzerland) is intended to stimulate the cochlea by a conventional stapedotomy piston that is crimped onto the DACS PI artificial incus. An alternative approach to the round window (RW) is successfully done with other devices, having the advantage of being also independent of the existence of middle ear structure (e.g.

Treating hearing loss in patients with infantile Bartter syndrome.

Objectives/hypothesis: Most existing studies about infantile Bartter syndrome (BS) have focused on renal function, and deafness has not been closely studied. Our objective was to evaluate the treatment of hearing impairment in children with infantile BS and analyze relevant, unexplored issues.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Indications and outcome of subtotal petrosectomy for active middle ear implants.

The aim of this study was to describe the outcome and possible complications of subtotal petrosectomy (SP) for Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) device surgery in a tertiary referral center. A secondary objective was the evaluation of hearing results in a subgroup of subjects who received the VSB device. Between 2009 and early 2011, 22 adult subjects with chronic otitis media (COM) underwent a SP, blind sac closure of the external auditory canal and abdominal fat obliteration to facilitate the application of an active middle ear implant (AMEI) in a staged procedure.

Oval window membrane vibroplasty for direct acoustic cochlear stimulation: treating severe mixed hearing loss in challenging middle ears.

Objective: To date, all the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) applications have managed to stimulate the inner ear indirectly. Our objective was to present a new VSB application for direct inner ear stimulation.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Controlling the position and the dislocation of the middle ear transducer with high-resolution computed tomography and digital volume tomography: implications for the transducers' design.

A minimal tip dislocation of the middle ear transducer (MET(®), Otologics Ltd) may result in poor hearing performance. Our objective was to examine if a defined MET dislocation can be diagnosed by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) or digital volume tomography (DVT). A human cadaver head was sequentially implanted with different MET tips (incus application) including a ceramic tip (T 1c), a titanium tip (T 1t), a new, thinner titanium tip (T 2), and a spherical titanium tip (Ts).

Power stapes: an alternative method for treating hearing loss in osteogenesis imperfecta?

Objective: To present power stapes, stapedotomy, and middle ear implantation with Vibrant SoundBridge (VSB) performed in a one-step surgery as an alternative option for hearing rehabilitation in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI).

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Setting: Tertiary referral ear center.

Ear and further anatomic anomalies in children undergoing stapedotomy.

Purpose: Aim of this study was to examine any stapes fixation-related clinical, intraoperative and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings in children undergoing stapedotomy.

Procedures: Detailed diagnostic assessment was performed in 12 children (18 ears) who underwent stapedotomy within the period 2005-2008.

Results: Ear malformations such as malleus-incus anomalies, malleus-epitympanum fixation and absence of the stapedius tendon, small external auditory canal and auricle malformations were clinically and/or intraoperatively diagnosed.

Pressure and temperature changes in in vitro applications with the laser and their implications for middle ear surgery.

Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the thermal and pressure effects using a Titan Sapphire chirped-pulse amplifier system configured to deliver ultrashort pulses of 180 femtoseconds (fs) in an inner ear model. Materials and Methods.

Anatomic limitations in implantation of middle ear transducer and carina middle ear implants.

Objectives/hypothesis: The objective of this study was to examine any anatomic limitations in implantation of the semi-implantable middle ear transducer (MET) and fully implantable Carina middle ear implants (Otologics, Boulder, CO).

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Methods: This study involved high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the temporal bone and surgical findings in 22 middle ear implantations (17 MET, five Carina).