Osseointegrated Implants in Children: Experience from Our First 100 Patients

Abstract

This study was undertaken on 100 children aged 16 years or under intended for installation of osseointegrated implants. Of these, 76 had implants installed for bone-anchored hearing aids or prostheses. The main indication for implant installation was a bilateral ear malformation. Surgery was generally performed as a two-stage procedure with a healing time of 3 to 4 months in between. Available bone thickness was on average 2.5 mm, and lack of bone necessitated bone augmentation in 12 patients. Thirty-nine percent of implants were installed in contact with the dura, sigmoid sinus, or an air cell. Implant failures were 5.8% of 170 inserted fixtures. Adverse skin reactions appeared in 9.1% of patients over a 21-year follow-up period. Revision surgery was undertaken in 22% of patients because of appositional growth of the temporal bone. Of the 24 children considered but not found suitable for osseointegration surgery, plastic surgery was considered a better option, or growth of the temporal bone was awaited. It is concluded that the rate of implant failure is lower in children; the frequency of skin reactions is the same as in adults, but revision surgery is more common in young patients because of new bone formation. Our clinical experience supported by the data presented in this article suggests that the concept could be used with good functional and aesthetic results in children.

Surgical Outcome of Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (Baha) Implant Surgery: A 10 Years Experience

“…The sound processor has been recently manufactured as a more compact device thus improving its aesthetic appearance. The concept of titanium osseointegration in bone conduction hearing aids was initially introduced by Tjellstrom in 1977 [1].…”

Vibrotactile evaluation: Osseointegrated versus socket-suspended transfemoral prostheses

“…This was one of the reasons why we conducted measurements on a test prosthesis. The results from the test prosthesis showed that the vibration signal was dampened in some frequencies (8,125, and 250 Hz) but, surprisingly, amplified at others (16,32, and 64 Hz) ( Table 4). This varying result could be due to the different parts of the prosthesis, which might give rise to self-oscillation or resonance Table 4.…”

“…The most common is in dental care [4][5], and other attachments are in facial reconstructions [6][7] and hearing aids [8]. Today, osseointegration is also used in boneanchorage of external prostheses as an alternative to conventional socket-suspended prostheses for patients with limb amputations [1,[9][10][11].…”

“…Using this instrument, Jacobs et al tested the vibrometric tactile thresholds in a group of patients with upper-or lower-limb OI prostheses and a control group with socket-suspended prostheses [35]. The study used frequencies of 8,16,32,64,125, and 250 Hz. These researchers found that the detection thresholds for vibratory stimulation of socket-suspended prosthetic limbs generally were higher than for nondisabled limbs, while OI prostheses yielded better perception than the socketsuspended prostheses.…”

“…It included 17 patients tested preoperatively with socket-suspended prostheses and after 2 yr with OI prostheses and a control group (n = 17) using socket-suspended prostheses, evaluated once. Assessments on the prosthetic and intact feet were conducted at six frequencies (8,16,32, 64, 125, and 250 Hz). Furthermore, measurements were conducted to investigate how vibrometric signals are transmitted through a test prosthesis.…”