Early Outcomes of a New Active Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Implant in Pediatric Patients.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the early surgical and audiometric outcomes in pediatric patients implanted with a new active transcutaneous bone conduction implant system.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective case review.

SETTING

Tertiary pediatric hospital.

PATIENTS: Pediatric patients (18 or younger) with conductive or mixed hearing loss that completed postoperative aided testing following implantation with the Cochlear Osia system from December 2019 to December 2020.

INTERVENTION: Rehabilitative.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Preoperative air conduction (AC), preoperative bone conduction (BC), and postoperative aided thresholds were compared. Pure-tone averages (PTA), air-bone gap (ABG), and functional gain were calculated. Surgical complications and patient satisfaction were summarized from the chart review.

RESULTS

Sixteen patients (20 implants) met the inclusion criteria. The average age at the time of implantation was 12.9 ± 2.4 years. The preoperative AC and BC thresholds were 64.4 dB (±11.9 dB) and 7.9 dB (±4.90 dB), respectively, with an average ABG of 56.5 dB (±12.8 dB). The average postoperative aided threshold was 21.2 dB (± 4.25 dB) with a mean functional gain of 43.1 dB (±10.2 dB). One patient developed seroma postoperatively, which was treated conservatively. No other complications were reported over a mean follow-up time of 7.1 ± 4 months. For 13 patients with previous passive bone conduction implants or devices, the Osia system was universally favored.

CONCLUSIONS

The new active transcutaneous bone conduction system showed favorable early clinical and audiometric outcomes. Repeated processor connectivity issues represent a potential area for future device development. This is the largest pediatric case series to date.Level of Evidence: Level 4-Retrospective Review.