Apical Electrode Placement to Augment Intracochlear Current in Patients With an Ossified Cochlea and Incomplete Electrode Array Insertion

To describe a novel surgical technique utilizing the placement of an apical ground electrode to facilitate intracochlear current modulation in patients with cochlear ossification and incomplete electrode array insertion. PATIENTS: Patients with incomplete standard electrode array insertion due to cochlear ossification.

Surgeons treating cochlear implant patients with incomplete electrode insertion due to cochlear ossification may consider apical ground electrode placement as a technique to improve intracochlear current distribution, though evidence is limited to a small case series.

Cochlear ossification is a known barrier to full electrode insertion, and this novel technique may expand hearing outcomes for a difficult-to-treat patient subset that currently has limited surgical options.

1. 01Novel surgical technique uses an apical ground electrode to modulate electrical current in an ossified cochlea.
2. 02Technique addresses the problem of incomplete electrode array insertion due to cochlear bone hardening (ossification).
3. 03Apical electrode placement aims to compensate for missing apical electrode contacts, which correspond to low-frequency hearing.
4. 04Published in Otology & Neurotology as a descriptive surgical technique study.
5. 05Findings are preliminary; larger controlled studies are needed to validate clinical benefit.

PMID

42241329

DOI

10.1097/MAO.0000000000004970.

Journal

Otology & Neurotology

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

4

Population

Cochlear implant patients with ossified cochleae and incomplete electrode array insertion

Intervention

Apical ground electrode placement to augment intracochlear current