Bone-anchored hearing aid surgery in older adults: implant loss and skin reactions

Abstract

Objectives: We evaluated the clinical outcome measures of fixture loss and skin reactions in older-adult users of percutaneous bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs).

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 224 older adults (at least 60 years of age) who underwent implantation of 248 implants with the simplified Nijmegen surgical technique between January 1995 and May 2007.

Results: During a mean follow-up of 39 months (range, 0 to 144 months), 16 of the 248 implants were lost (6.5%). The causes were failed osseointegration in 9 cases, trauma in 6 cases, and implant loss in irradiated bone in 1 case. There were no losses due to infection. Implant loss was not significantly correlated with age. In 40 implants (16.9%), severe skin reactions of Holgers grade 2 or more were observed. Skin revision surgery was performed around 6 implants (2.4%). None of the patients had an 8.5-mm abutment to overcome severe skin reactions.

Conclusions: The outcome of BAHA surgery in older adults was favorable. The rate of implant loss was comparable with that in the overall population of BAHA recipients. There were low risks of severe skin reactions or developing thick skin around the implant.