Abstract
Objectives:
(1) Describe the benefits of the minimally invasive Punch Method without soft tissue reduction (PM) for the placement of percutaneous osteointegrated auditory implants. (2) Compare and contrast techniques and outcomes from PM with the Linear Method with soft tissue reduction (LM).
Methods:
A retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients who received a percutaneous bone-anchored auditory implant from 2009 to 2013 at a tertiary otology practice by a single surgeon. LM was used until 2011 when a switch was made for all patients to PM. Preoperative variables recorded included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, indication, and device selected. Outcomes measures included surgical time, skin reaction grading by Holgers score at 1 week and at most recent follow-up, and any other complications. Two-sample t test was used to compare.
Results:
Fifty-one patients (34 LM, 17 PM) were identified with an average follow-up of 16.9 months (22.3 LM, 5.8 PM). Average surgical time was found to be significantly shorter for the PM group (10.2 minutes vs 48.8 minutes, P < .01). There were no statistically significant differences between LM and PM for mean Holgers score at first (LM 0.24, PM 0.47 P = .87) or most recent follow-up (LM 0.62, PM 0.41, P = .22). Additionally, there were no significant correlations with age, sex, BMI, smoking status, indication, or device selected.
Conclusions:
The Punch Method offers several potential surgical and cosmetic advantages over the Linear Method, without compromising skin-reactivity outcomes. This study supports a growing trend towards minimally invasive percutaneous auditory implant surgery.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.