Hinrich Staecker, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Kansas Health System, USA.
The 17th European Symposium on paediatric cochlear implantation was held Hannover at the Hannover Conference Center. Over a period of four days clinicians from all over the world met to discuss a range of topics related to paediatric cochlear implantation.
The beautiful conference venue was built in 1914 and consisted of a spectacular circular central hall with multiple associated ballrooms, allowing seven sessions to run in parallel starting at 7.00 in the morning! In addition, there were poster and live surgeries, which were performed at Hannover Medical School by the meeting host Thomas Lenarz and his team and transmitted to the main auditorium.
The most challenging portion of the meeting was deciding which lectures to attend. Individual sessions were divided into topical blocks separated by 15-minute gaps that allowed easy transition from one session to another. I thought that this was a great innovation that allowed you to attend different sessions without missing information, especially if a speaker happened to run over.
An overall impression at this meeting was that molecular biology and molecular therapeutics have become a major force and important topic in our field. Several talks discussed the recent otoferlin gene therapy trials, and this triggered significant discussion regarding the impact of gene therapy on the cochlear implant field. In particular, the necessity of broadening the availability of genetic testing for hearing loss and how to integrate this into your implant programme at both the surgeon and audiologist level were discussed.
Although not entirely focused on paediatric patients, there were multiple sessions focused on novel technologies such as the Australian neurotrophin gene therapy trial, which promises to improve spiral ganglion health, as well as talks on robotics, novel imaging and anatomy research, as well as a plenary talk on totally implantable cochlear implant systems.
I was impressed by the rapid development of cochlear implantation for single sided deafness in the paediatric population. Multiple talks examined candidacy guidelines as well as outcomes, and it appears that the advances that were made in the single sided deaf adult population have rapidly been adapted for children.
One of the advantages of this conference was the international set of speakers that featured different and enlightening approaches to clinical operations. A talk from Saudi Arabia, for example, discussed implementation of early activation of implants immediately after surgery and how this has increased patient satisfaction without any significant disadvantages. Additional paediatric topics were the role of CMV in progressive hearing loss, as well as sessions on malformations and paediatric ABI.
The conference also featured a broad range of enjoyable social events, allowing me to see another side of Hannover besides the inside of lecture hall. From a surgeon’s perspective, there was a plethora of novel material presented at this excellent meeting that will impact both my paediatric and adult implant practices. The big take home message is that we need to be getting genetic testing on our patients even if a molecular therapy is not available today.
