Fully implantable hearing device as a new treatment of conductive hearing loss in Franceschetti syndrome.

The objective is to investigate a new therapeutic option for treatment of conductive hearing loss in children with Franceschetti syndrome. A Carina fully implantable device with the MET V transducer for conductive applications was implanted in a 14-year-old male suffering from bilateral conductive hearing loss (mean PTA loss: 70 dB on the right ear and 64 dB on the left ear) secondary to Franceschetti (a.k.a Treacher Collins) syndrome with bilateral agenesis of external ear canal and ossicular malformation. Postoperative unaided PTA was unchanged by the surgical procedure. When the implant was activated, mean PTA was 29 dB improved on the implanted ear. The capacity of the Carina MET ossicular stimulator to provide appropriate gain relative to the degree of hearing loss indicates that the device may be a viable treatment for children with agenesis of external auditory canal and severe malformation of the middle ear. However, these initial results need to be furthered by: (1) additional studies including a greater number of patients to confirm these preliminary results and (2) a long-term follow-up must be carried out to detect possible long-term cochlear adverse effects, in particular on the basilar membrane.