Surgery Preparation

The Baha^® system combines a sound processor with an abutment and a small titanium implant. The implant is placed behind the non-functioning ear. Surgery is minor, and Baha recipients report a wide range of advantages over other hearing devices.

The titanium screw of the Baha is screwed from outside into the bone. Because of this procedure, there is some risk of infection. With proper healing and normal precautions, this is not an issue for the great majority of recipients.

In recent years improvements to the surgical procedures have resulted in most patients being able to have a single stage procedure carried out under local, or a short general anaesthetic. Most patients are able to leave hospital within a few hours, or the day after their procedure with many not even requiring analgesia in the following days.

While your dressing is still on:

• Take care of the abutment to avoid any complications with the surrounding tissue.
• If the area has healed, the dressing and stitches will be removed 10-14 days after surgery.
• If the area hasn't healed, the dressing may have to stay in place longer.

Once your dressing is removed:

• Maintain good daily hygiene.
• Wash your hair carefully for the first few weeks.
• Use a strip of alcohol-free wet wipe to keep the skin around the abutment clean.
• Follow daily and weekly cleaning instructions as outlined in the aftercare kit.

After a period of approximately three months (six months for children) the implant will have osseointegrated with the bone. The sound processor may then be attached to the abutment, enabling the recipient to hear with the Baha system fully in place for the first time.

Note:

A double stage procedure is sometimes carried out for small children / babies or other medical reasons. The first stage involves peeling back a small 1 by 1 cm section of skin behind the ear, then drilling one or more holes for the fixture. (Some surgeons will place a "sleeper" receptor.) The skin is then grafted back and the child waits for the skull to continue to thicken and for osseointegration to occur properly. After osseointegration (can be 6 to 8 months) the second stage is performed. The second stage is another surgery in which the "post" is attached, and the skin is grafted around the "post." This will require healing for several weeks, at which point the Baha would be fitted.