PEDIATRIC COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION - RADIOLOGIC OBSERVATIONS OF SKULL GROWTH

We investigated the effects of long-term implantation of auditory pros theses on skull growth in young animals. Four monkeys were implanted w ith dummy cochlear implants at 6 months of age. To simulate implantati on in children, the bed for the receiver-stimulator or interconnecting plug was drilled across a calvarial suture down to the underlying dur a. Plain skull roentgenograms Were periodically taken to monitor head growth for up to 3 years after implantation. These longitudinal measur ements revealed no significant asymmetric skull growth. Postmortem mea surements using computed tomographic scans confirmed these results and showed no significant difference in the intracranial volumes between the implanted and control sides of each animal or between experimental and nonimplanted control monkeys. These results suggest that long-ter m cochlear implantation in very young children will not cause any sign ificant deformity of the skull.