Surgical solution for the transformation of the percutaneous bone anchored hearing aid to a transcutaneous system in complicated cases

Abstract

Bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) have been used for multiple types of hearing loss both in pediatric and adult cases. In the last decades, the percutaneous BAHA® Connect System (Cochlear Ltd., Sydney, Australia) was replaced by the fully implanted transcutaneous, magnet-based BAHA® Attract System (Cochlear Ltd., Sydney, Australia). Since the implantable part of the Attract device is fully covered with soft tissue, skin complications that were frequently observed in the percutaneous system, could be eliminated. As an outcome of this important advantage of the Attract System, conversion of the percutaneous into a transcutaneous system should be considered. In the following methodology report, a possible surgical technique is described. The method can easily be adopted to different conditions in which the replacement of the percutaneous device is necessary.