A one-stage surgical procedure for placement of percutaneous implants for the bone-anchored hearing aid.

The bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is an alternative to the conventional bone conduction hearing aid. The transducer is coupled to a percutaneous titanium implant which is traditionally inserted into the temporal bone in two stages. This study focusses on a one-stage surgical technique for the implantation of percutaneous implants. The preliminary clinical results of 33 one-stage implants in 33 patients are presented. Post-operative necrosis of the skin grafts did not occur. After a follow-up which varied from nine to 25 months, 31 out of the 33 fixtures (94 per cent) were anchored firmly in the skull. Twenty-six out of the 33 implants (79 per cent) remained free from potentially dangerous skin reactions. The results were statistically comparable to those obtained with two-stage implants at the same clinic. Although longer follow-up is needed before a general statement can be made about replacing the two-stage technique, the preliminary one-stage results are promising.