Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features of cochlear reimplantation due to device failure.
Methods: The medical records of 30 patients who had undergone a revision cochlear implantation were retrospectively reviewed. Causes of revision operations, number of electrode channels inserted, and postoperative speech performances were analyzed.
Results: Device failure (N=12, 38.7%) and hematoma (N=3, 9.6%) were the two most common reasons for revision surgery. In patients with device failure, the number of electrode channels reinserted was equal to, or more than the number of channels inserted during initial implantation. Speech performance scores remained the same, or improved after reimplantation in patients with device failure.
Conclusion: Device failure was the most common cause of revision operation in patients with cochlear implantation. Contrary to expectation, new electrodes were fully inserted without difficulty in all reimplantation cases. Intracochlear damage due to reimplantation appeared to be clinically insignificant.
Keywords: Cochlear implantation; Deaf; Device failure; Reimplantation; Revision.