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

Objective: To compare audiologic performance after cochlear implantation (CI) in children with incomplete partition (IP) Type I and age-matched children with normal cochleae.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Academic center.

Patients: 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.

Intervention Ci Main Outcome Measure: The Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) Scale score and the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) score.

Results: 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.

Conclusion: Children with IP Type I who underwent CI performed as well as children with normal cochlea in the long-term.