Rare case of cochlear implant damaged by nearby use of monopolar electrosurgery.

OBJECTIVES

To present a rare case of a cochlear implant (CI) damaged by nearby use of monopolar electrosurgery.

PATIENT: A 38-year-old man with a right-sided CI reported that his implant had stopped producing sound immediately after his meningioma resection.

INTERVENTIONS: Right pterional craniotomy with use of monopolar electrosurgery.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cochlear implant device performance, post-operative word recognition score (WRS).

RESULTS

Formal evaluation revealed a defective cochlear implant. During revision surgery no gross defect was noted to the device suggesting that malfunction was due to electrical damage from nearby electrosurgery. The patient's hearing on the right subjectively returned to baseline after replacement of the CI and his WRS dropped to 46 % from 60 % prior to his craniotomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Monopolar electrosurgery in the immediate proximity to a CI can result in device malfunction.