Outcomes After Transcutaneous Bone-Conduction Implantation in Adults and Children

Objective: To evaluate clinical and audiometric outcomes of adult and pediatric patients implanted with a semi-implantable transcutaneous active bone-conduction implant. Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Two tertiary referral centers. Patients: Subjects implanted with the semi-implantable transcutaneous active bone-conduction implant called BoneBridge. Intervention: Implantation of the BoneBridge and audiometric evaluations. Main Outcome Measures: Audiometric, clinical, and surgical outcomes as well as complications. Results: Forty-two adults and 20 children were implanted for conductive or mixed hearing loss as well as single-sided deafness. Implantation significantly improved mean air-conduction pure-tone average from 72.8 +/- 22.3 to 35 +/- 9 dB in adults and from 65.7 +/- 24.3 to 19.6 +/- 8.2 dB in children (both p < 0.001). Word recognition score improved from 63.7 +/- 38.8% to 85.6 +/- 10.6% in adults and 57.8 +/- 38% to 89.3 +/- 10.1% in children (both p < 0.05). The rate of revision surgery was 11.3%, with four patients (6.5%) undergoing removal for device-related complications, two (3.2%) for complications associated with implantation, and one (1.6%) for device failure secondary to external trauma. Conclusions: In a large retrospective series consisting of both pediatric and adult patients, implantation with a transcutaneous active bone-conduction implant was found to be a reliable aural rehabilitation option for a variety of hearing loss etiologies.