Novel use of the Cochlear^® Hybrid CI24REH cochlear implant

Abstract

Cochlear implantation is becoming more widespread. From its early days to date, huge strides have been made in the technology and surgical technique. However, one challenge remains: implanting malformed or abnormal cochleae. Even more challenging is a cochlea that appears normal at first glance, but is not. We present a case of a child with chondrodysplasia punctata, who had apparently morphologically normal inner ears, but with one major obstacle: the cochlea was smaller than normal in all dimensions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case described, and the solution is a novel one as well.

Keywords:

• Cochlear
• Otology
• Dysmorphism
• Implant
• Nucleus

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge: Dr M Hockmann, Netcare Linksfield Clinic, Linksfield, Johannesburg, South Africa; Prof. Dr T Linder, Kantonsspital Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland; Department of Audiology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Soweto, South Africa.