Cochlear Reimplantation and Its Etiology at the Antwerp University Hospital: A 29-Year, Single-Center Experience in Children and Adults

Background: As the number of cochlear implantations is increasing and devices are aging, the amount of revision cochlear implant surgery is becoming more frequent. The aim of this study is to present an institutional experience of cochlear reimplantation rate and its etiologies.

Methods: Patients who underwent revision cochlear implant surgery at the Antwerp University Hospital between August 1993 and August 2022 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: A total of 1313 cochlear implantations were performed at the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) over a period of 29 years. There have been 60 cochlear reimplantations in the center, 6 of which received their first implant in another medical center than UZA. Therefore, the institutional failure rate is 4.3% (54/1253). Reimplantation in children (<10 years old) accounted for 28% (17/60) of the cohort. Device-related failure was the most prevalent etiology and amounted to 70% (42/60) of the reimplantations; 26.7% (16/60) were medically related failures. One case was registered as an inconclusive failure (1.7%) and 1 case was an elective upgrade (1.7%). The mean duration to failure was 11.0 years (ranging 0.8-22.7 years). Revision cochlear implantation is challenging with respect to indication (in cases without device failure), preoperative workup (incl. imaging), electrode array choice (matching the dimensions of the original electrode type), as well as the surgical procedure itself.

Conclusion: The number of reimplantations is expected to grow in the coming years due to the increasing number of patients that have been implanted in the last decades. Device-related failure was the most prevalent reason for reimplantation in the present study.

Cite this article as: Gaver HV, Mertens G, Cochet E, et al. Cochlear reimplantation and its etiology at the Antwerp University Hospital: a 29-year, single-center experience in children and adults. B-ENT. 2025;21(2):70-73.