Results of cochlear implants in children.

About 700 children throughout the world have been implanted to date. Placing a cochlear implant represents no particular problem in the child. The incidence of complications is not high, being of about the same proportion as that in the adult. To obtain the best results, the selection of patients must be correct and carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of specialists, while the operated child must be subject to regular and intensive rehabilitation. The results appear to have become more satisfactory since the duration of sensory deprivation has been made shorter. In cases of congenital deafness in prelingual children, implantation should, ideally, take place before the age of six.