Technical Note: minimal access surgery for cochlear implantation with MED-EL devices.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive techniques have been described for cochlear implant surgery, but so far this had not been the case for Med-EL devices.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a newly developed minimal access approach for the implantation of Med-EL devices and report our results after up to 1 year of follow-up in 52 patients.

DISCUSSION: The use of a minimally invasive approach without raising a flap or extensive drilling of a bony well was feasible in all 52 patients of this series. It shortened the surgical time to an average of 45 min and there were no specific postoperative complications. The average follow-up of 8.4 months was uneventful with the implants well covered and fixed in their position. The described approach therefore appears to be a safe, time- and cost-effective alternative to the standard procedure in cochlear implant surgery using Med-EL devices.