Objectives: To evaluate the treatment of hearing loss in children who have undergone cardiac surgery in their early lives as a result of severe heart defects. In addition to evaluating the preparations for the procedure, the safety and effectiveness of cochlear implantation were evaluated.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted. In our database there are 8 children (age: 2.5-5.5) with congenital heart defect who have had cardiac surgery in early life. A cochlear implantation procedure with a Cochlear CI512 or CI612 device was performed in all cases. There was one recipient of consequitive, bilateral CI device.
Results: Assessment of the four-frequency average of  indicative free field audiometry shows that there is an increase of hearing ability within a given time period: without sound processor (SP) the threshold of hearing had been  112.75 dB, with SP (three month after surgery) it was 67.5 dB, 6 months after surgery was 49 dB. After the cochlear implantation, speech development of implanted children was faster than observed prior to cochlear implant (CI) surgery. One case of facial nerve paralysis was observed after a hematoma formation due to rapid introduction of anticoagulants after surgery, the complication subsided without additional intervention.
Conclusion: It is safe for children who have had cardiac surgery to undergo cochlear implantation if the defect is detected and treated at an early stage. The risk of cochlear implantation can be reduced by preoperative planning.

The use of cochlear implants for the treatment of deafness in patients who have undergone cardiac surgery due to severe heart defects

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm, that on behalf of the Cochlear Implant centers of the Radboud UMC in Nijmegen and Erasmus MC Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam to invite you to attend the 16th European Symposium on Pediatric Cochlear Implantation to Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2023.

Yours sincerely, on behalf of the CI Centers at Radboud UMC and Erasmus MC,