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Biomedical subjects

B Fraysse

Publications and source records attributed to B Fraysse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Pre-operative and per-operative factors conditioning long-term facial nerve function in vestibular schwannoma surgery through translabyrinthine approach.

Facial nerve function was evaluated in 103 patients, after vestibular schwannoma removal through the translabyrinthine approach. The mean follow-up was 43 months (minimum six months). Grade I facial function was achieved in 100 per cent of stage I schwannomata compared with 36 per cent of stage IV schwannomata. Grade I or II facial function was found in 78 per cent of homogeneous schwannomata, compared with 48 per cent of heterogeneous schwannomata. Facial function was preserved in 89 per cent of cases, if the angle between the internal auditory canal and the schwannoma was > 66 degrees, compared with 54 per cent if the angle was < 66 degrees. There was 82 per cent of normal facial function when the nerve appeared normal after tumour removal, compared with 18 per cent when the nerve was traumatized. When the ratio (stimulation threshold at the internal auditory canal/stimulation threshold at brainstem) was < 2, post-operative facial function was preserved in 87 per cent of cases, compared with 13 per cent when the ratio was > 2.

Adolescent

Cochlear implants for adults obtaining marginal benefit from acoustic amplification: a European study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the application of a speech recognition score of 30% on open-set word materials as the upper limit for preoperative performance in determining cochlear implant (CI) candidacy for European non-English-speaking hearing-impaired persons. This study also aimed to determine the effect of implantation on residual pure-tone hearing thresholds and to determine the incidence and benefit of a contralateral hearing aid postimplant. STUDY DESIGN: The single-subject design study, involving 20 postlinguistically deafened subjects, compares preoperative performance with hearing aids to postoperative performance with a CI at 6 months after surgery. Subjects were implanted with either the Nucleus Mini 22 or the Nucleus 24 CI systems implementing the MPEAK and SPEAK coding strategies. Fourteen subjects meeting the selection criteria were accrued consecutively specifically for inclusion in the study, whereas the remaining 6 retrospectively implanted subjects were identified for inclusion via patient records. PATIENTS: The investigation included 8 clinics over 3 countries (France, Germany, and Spain) and involved 20 postlinguistically deafened subjects who obtained marginal benefit from acoustic amplification before surgery. Nineteen subjects were older than 18 years of age with 1 subject being 14 years old included in the data report as well. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Open-set speech recognition was evaluated before and after surgery using recorded word lists and sentence lists in the subject's native language to determine benefit from the treatment. Baseline audiograms were obtained before surgery for frequencies of 0.25-8.0 kHz for both ears and compared to pure-tone hearing thresholds measured at 1 month after surgery to determine the effect of the implantation on residual hearing. Additionally, a questionnaire was administered to determine the incidence and benefit of continued hearing aid use in the contralateral ear postimplant. RESULTS: Nineteen of the 20 study subjects displayed a significant benefit after surgery at 6 months after switch-on for open-set speech recognition. The remaining subject displayed no significant change in performance on objective testing. The implantation resulted in a significant downward shift in hearing thresholds for the implant ear in the majority of subjects. However, 50% of subjects displayed conservation of some residual hearing. For the majority of subjects, hearing aid use in the contralateral ear was discontinued because of lack of perceived benefit after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The Nucleus Multichannel CI provides a significant benefit for postlinguistically deafened adults who display marginal benefit from acoustic amplification. Therefore, in French-, German-, and Spanish-speaking clinics, a speech recognition score of 30% on open-set word materials is considered an appropriate upper limit for preoperative performance in determining CI candidacy. In view of a significant downward shift in pure-tone thresholds in the implant ear for the majority of subjects, in cases of asymmetry, it is recommended that the poorer ear be implanted. After surgery, the majority of subjects did not perceive an added benefit from continued use of their contralateral hearing aid.

Adolescent

Hearing restoration in posterior fossa tumors.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the results of hearing restoration with a cochlear or a brainstem implant in posterior fossa tumors. PATIENTS: Six patients were selected. Two patients with an acoustic neuroma in the only-hearing ear (cases 1 and 2), one patient with a posterior fossa meningioma (case 3), one patient with bilateral facial neuroma (case 4), and two patients with bilateral acoustic neuroma (cases 5 and 6) participated. INTERVENTION: In cases 1 and 2, the patients had a cochlear implant inserted on the only-hearing ear opposite the acoustic neuroma. In case 3, the patient presented with total deafness on the left side and a 10-mm meningioma on the right side. A cochlear implantation was performed after removal of the meningioma on the right side. In case 4, the patient was operated on on both sides with bilateral postoperative deafness. A cochlear implantation was performed on the better hearing ear. In cases 5 and 6, patients underwent an auditory brainstem implantation after the exeresis of the second tumor. RESULTS: Promontory test results were positive for patients 1, 2, 3, and 4. After implantation, patients 1, 2, 3, and 4 scored 98%, 13%, 70%, and 30%, respectively, in open-set sentence recognition tests, whereas patients 5 and 6 scored 0% and 20%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In case of nonfunctional cochlear nerve, in acoustic neuroma, either bilateral and in the only-hearing ear, promontory test should be performed. If positive results, a cochlear implantation should be performed, because successful results could be expected. Overall results of cochlear implantation on speech discrimination are better than those obtained with a brainstem implant.

Adolescent

[Cochleovestibular disorders associated with hemifacial spasm: an outcome after microvascular decompression of the facial nerve].

Twelve patients underwent microvascular decompression by retrosigmoid approach to relieve severe hemifacial spasm. The surgery was done under intraoperative monitoring of the auditory function. Assessment at Day 2, Day 10, 2 months and 6 months after the operation found that the surgery had resulted in 9 recoveries, 3 improvements and 1 failure. Brain stem auditory evoked potentials monitoring showed that the interposition of Teflon between the vascular loop and the facial nerve is a critical stage for the auditory function. Six of the twelve patients were also complaining of cochleo-vestibular disorders: vertigo and tinnitus, or hearing loss and tinnitus, or vertigo alone. The surgery improved at least one of these cochleo-vestibular symptoms in each one of the patients. There was one hearing improvement, vertigo disappeared in three cases out of four, and tinnitus disappeared in four cases out of five. The possibility of a concomitant compression of cochleo-vestibular and facial nerve was investigated using cochleovestibular tests, radiological data and intra-operative findings.

Aged

[Development of different linguistic systems in children with a cochlear implant].

The authors have studied a population of 21 pre-lingually deaf children equipped with a cochlear implant for at least 24 months. Their linguistic progression after implantation has been compared with the standard language development in normally hearing children, using a model published by Marie Therese Le Normand in 1996. 3 types of development can be distinguished: Profile 1 (shown by 9 children) in which language development after implantation is rapid and homogeneous: profile 2 (shown by 8 children), in which it is slower and more heterogeneous, with a longer pre-linguistic phase; Profile 3 (shown by 3 children) in which there are diverse problems with development. The authors then searched to establish the influence of the age at implantation and the mode of communication on this development.

Child

Selection criteria for cochlear implants in children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the selection criteria for cochlear implantation in children. SETTING: Hospital pediatric implant center. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: Selection of patients depends on medical evaluation, audiometric data, speech discrimination, communication skills, cognitive skills, and psychosocial factors. Patient selection is based on tonal audiometry, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and electrophysiologic tests. Side of implantation is chosen according to cochlear structure, duration of deafness, and dominant handedness. RESULTS: Ninety-eight cochlear implantations with the Nucleus multichannel implant have been performed at this center since 1990. CONCLUSION: The selection of children for cochlear implantation require close collaboration between the pediatric surgical team, the educational team, and the family.

Auditory Threshold

[Cochlear implants in the elderly].

The authors present a retrospective and multicenter study of 18 elderly patients aged above 60 years-old who underwent a cochlear implantation by comparing them with a population of adult patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility and benefits of cochlear implantation in the elderly by analyzing the clinical data and the results of a questionnaire assessing the use of the implant and the consequences of implantation on the quality of life. The results of this study indicate that the improvement of quality of life in the elderly is similar compared to a control group of adult patients.

Aged

[Conservation of residual hearing after cochlear implantation].

Indications for cochlear implantation have been expanded to include severely hearing impaired adults and may increase the number of patients presenting with preoperative residual hearing. Conservation of residual hearing may allow better performance with an implant. However, conventional thought is that implantation destroys auditory structures involved in residual hearing. This study was undertaken to assess if there are general or surgical factors intervening in the conservation of residual hearing in a sample of multichannel implant recipients. A retrospective study on 50 adult cochlear recipients with preoperative residual hearing has been undertaken. Sixteen of 50 implanted subjects (32%) were found to have conserved their residual hearing. Among them, seven patients have clinically non-significant changes of hearing. Age, side of implantation, gender and etiology did not influence the outcome of residual hearing. Round window ossification, ossification of the cochlea, length of insertion, approach and site of insertion (scala tympani vs.scala vestibuli) were not found to be statistically significant between the population having lost and the population having conserved residual hearing. This study emphasizes the need to undertake a larger multicenter longitudinal study to determine the existence of factors related to the conservation of residual hearing.

Adolescent

Histopathology of the peripheral vestibular system in small vestibular schwannomas.

Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging can be used to detect small vestibular schwannomas/acoustic neuromas. Early detection raises the question of the necessity of their surgical removal. Do all tumors induce lesions in the vestibule and to what extent? We thus investigated the ultrastructure of peripheral vestibular systems in grades I and II schwannomas. Vestibular tissues were fixed as soon as they were removed during the resection of tumors, by the translabyrinthine approach, and then processed for transmission electron microscope observations. In neurosensory epithelia, hair cells lost stereocilia, whereas cuticular plates disaggregated. The cytoplasm of hair cells degenerated in either a dense or vacuolated manner, and cytoplasmic blisters extended into the endolymph. In some cases, supporting cells extended processes covering the apical surface of hair cells. Nerve fibers massively disappeared from epithelia, only few nerve fibers contacted type I and type II hair cells, and both afferent and efferent terminals were abnormal. In vestibular nerves, axons degenerated, and myelin sheaths disaggregated. Glycogen was present in both intracellular and extracellular spaces. Luse bodies associated with collagen bundles were found between fibers. Scarpa ganglion neurons contained lysosomes/lipofuscin granules and vacuoles. Tumor cells were found in both the ganglion and the vestibular nerve. Thus small tumors induce extensive degeneration of vestibular tissues. The various hallmarks of schwannomas are already present in small acoustic neuromas. Moreover, different types of degeneration of hair cells and neurons were observed, together with the covering of hair cells by supporting cells and the accumulation of glycogen in the vestibular nerve.

Adult

Comparison of postoperative results in suspected and confirmed cases of perilymphatic fistula.

Perilymphatic fistula is suspected on clinical symptoms, but must be confirmed by surgery. Exploratory tympanotomy was realized in 38 patients, presenting one or several symptoms of perilymphatic fistula. A leak was observed in 23 patients (61%). When a leak was not observed, the oval and round windows were filled with connective tissue. Preoperative and post-operative symptoms were compared in patients with or without leak: there was not significant difference between the two groups of patients. 63% of patients presenting fluctuant or sensorineural hearing loss improved or stabilized hearing after surgery. One patient, presenting a post-traumatic total deafness due to round window rupture, was immediately operated on, and recovered normal hearing. 84% of patients with vertigo or dizziness improved after surgery. The authors conclude that exploratory tympanotomy should be widely proposed when a perilymphatic fistula is suspected. Oval and round window should be grafted with connective tissue even if a leak is not observed.

Adolescent

Rehabilitation of long-term facial paralysis.

A wide variety or techniques have been developed over the years in an effort to reduce the devastating impact of facial paralysis on the patient. The authors choose to perform hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis when facial facial nerve anastomosis, or cross-over, or microvascular muscle transplantation are impossible. Nevertheless, these results appear always insufficient for palpebral occlusion. The authors propose to associate two rehabilitation technique to obtain optimal results. They perform hypoglossal facial nerve anastomosis using the technique modified by U. Fisch, and they associate temporal muscular transfer to improve ocular protection. This association imposes an increased strain on the patient in an effort to undertake double re-education which modifies twice his classic corporeal scheme. The surgical technique are associated after evaluation of the possibility of the patient adherence to the long duration physical therapy.

Anastomosis, Surgical

Criteria for selecting the side for cochlear implantation.

Choice of the side for cochlear implantation should take into account peripheral (extracortical) factors and central (cerebral dominance) factors. From 111 patients implanted with a Nucleus device, the authors found that significant peripheral factors were the degree of cochlear ossification, the duration of deafness before cochlear implantation, and the preoperative promontory test dynamic range (degree of response on the promontory test in decibels); cause of deafness and residual hearing were not correlated with speech discrimination. Cerebral dominance was indirectly determined by handedness. Handedness laterality was determined by a questionnaire. There was no significant difference in results between patients implanted on their dominant side and patients implanted on their nondominant side. When ears are different according to their peripheral factors, the authors suggest implanting the better ear, provided there is no significant hearing in that ear. When both ears are identical, the side of implantation should be the side of handedness laterality to facilitate device manipulation (a practical reason).

Adolescent

[Vertigo in non-vascular diseases of the central nervous system].

Excluding vascular involvement, vertigo due to a central vestibular syndrome reflects a median or paramedian lesion of the brain stem or the cerebellum. Recurrent attacks of vertigo usually occur with peripheral lesions. Persistent acute vertigo with peripheral destruction can reveal ischemia of the brain stem. Central positional vertigo is rare and has symptomatology that is different from that of benign positional vertigo. Persistent instability has a symptomatology that is more difficult to analyse and is usually associated with a central vestibular syndrome when it is organic. Diagnosis of a central vestibular syndrome is based on detection of well-defined clinical or electronystagmographic signs of which abnormal nystagmus is primordial. Some of them such as inferior vertical nystagmus or dissociated nystagmus can localise the site. MRI has become the diagnostic procedure which is best adapted for identifying the most frequent aetiologies such as tumors, congenital malformations and multiple sclerosis.

Central Nervous System Diseases