Cochlear Reimplantation: Causes, Audiologic Performance, and Profile of Patients Submitted to Cochlear Reimplantation Surgery in the Cochlear Implant Center of Hospital do Coração de Natal / RN - Otocentro

Introduction: The cochlear implant surgery is an effective treatment for rehabilitation in severe and profound hearing impairment. As the number of implanted patients and lifetime of the devices increase each day, an increase in the number of reimplantation is also expected. However, few studies have evaluated the procedure of cochlear reimplantation under the aspect of safety and results.

Objective: This study aims to identify the profile of patients who were submitted to cochlear reimplantation surgery in the Cochlear Implant Center of Hospital do Coração de Natal / RN - Otocentro, reviewing the service experience in this procedure, its causes and audiological performance after reimplantation.

Method: A retrospective analysis of medical records of eight patients who were submitted to reimplantation surgery between the years 2001 and 2011 was performed. Variables analyzed were sex, age, time between the first cochlear implant and reimplantation with their respective causes, the etiology of deafness, functional gain after the first implant and reimplantation.

Results and conclusion: The ages of patients ranged from 1 year and 5 months to 66 years. The period between the first and second implant was on an average 3 years, ranging from 11 months to 10 years. The main cause of reimplantation was device failure. After reimplantation, the functional gain ranged from 15 to 60 dB for frequencies from 500 to 4,000 Hz. Therefore, it is possible to suggest that the device failure remains the leading cause of cochlear reimplantation. This procedure can be considered safe and successful from the maintenance of the functional gain.