Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the presurgical predictive
value of high resolution MRI in patients scheduled for chochlear implantati
on. Method and Material: The presurgical MRI (3D CISS, 3D MP-RAGE with and
without i.v. contrast medium, 2D TSE) findings of 54 patients and the intra
operative situation reported by the surgeon were compared retrospectively.
The surgical and functional success of the cochlear implantation was evalua
ted. Results: We found a high degree of correlation between MRI and intraop
erative findings concerning the patency of the whole cochlea and anomalies
as well as in the diagnosis of pathology of the cochlear, vestibular and fa
cial nerves and in anomalies of the internal auditory canal. However, in fo
ur out of 54 patients there was a false negative prediction regarding the p
atency of the cochlea. The sensitivity was 50% (4/8), the specificity 100%
(46/46). Concerning the surgical success the accuracy was 100%. In all pati
ents MRI gave sufficient anatomical information to the surgeon concerning t
he jugular bulb and the facial nerve. Conclusion: A high-resolution MRI pro
tocol consisting of coronal 2D T2w TSE, 3D T2 * w transverse CISS; plain an
d contrast enhanced sagittal T1w 3D MP-RAGE is recommended for the evaluati
on of candidates scheduled for cochlear implantation.