Does OTOPLAN have essential benefits for the preoperative surgical planning for Cochlear implantation?

OP (OTOPLAN) measures the parameters of the cochlear size and suggests a choice of cochlear array lengths and therefore is considered helpful for the surgical planning of CI (cochlear implantation) in many centers. However, often electrode arrays are successfully inserted that are different from OP recommendation. This study aimed to test whether OP has benefits in term of prevention of intraoperative surgical problems and postoperative results as well as complications. All patients, who underwent the MED-EL CI from 2019 to 2022 were respectively enrolled into this study. All 48 patients underwent analysis using OP and results regarding the cochlear size and recommendations of cochlear arrays were evaluated. Patients were classified into 3 groups based on the OP and intraoperative choice of electrode, i.e. FS/FS, F28/FS and others/others. The rate of use of OP recommendation was 52% (correct rate = FS/FS + F28/F28 + F26/F26) and the rate different to OP was 48%. The cochlear duct length was between 31.5-39.8mm. For the F28/FS group, the insertion angle was significantly larger than in the FS/FS, group. It reached more than 720°. The lowest frequency assigned to the Electrode E1 of the F28/FS was 70.7±31.0 Hz and significantly lower than in the FS/FS group (184.7±46.6 Hz). Postoperatively, there was no significant difference in terms of the speech perception. OP appears to systematically underestimate the cochlear duct length with respect to electrode array selection. Additional information, including the maximum insertion depth and the achievable lowest frequency at the electrode tip, can be acquired in a standardized way with the software, which could benefit the postoperative CI fitting process. Further clinical relevance will be added by pitch-match investigations.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2023