Surgery

What happens during the surgery?

The surgery is done in the operating room at BC Children’s Hospital under general anesthetic. Dr. Kozak is the pediatric cochlear implant surgeon of B.C.

The surgery usually takes about 4 hours and the children usually stay one night after the surgery for monitoring.

One week after surgery there is a follow-up appointment with Dr. Kozak.

It generally takes 3 to 5 weeks for the surgical incision to heal, but most children resume normal daily activities within days after the surgery. However, no active sports or climbing is recommended for 6 weeks after surgery.

What happens after the surgery?

Approximately 1 month after the surgery, the child will return to BC Children’s Hospital to have the implant activated.

At the time of activation, your Cochlear Implant audiologist will set up one or more listening programs for your child. This process is called “mapping”. For the first year after surgery, the child will need to be closely followed every 3 months. These appointments will occur at BC Children’s Hospital.

Generally, families can expect 6-8 follow-up appointments for the first year after the child receives the cochlear implant. After the first year, it is 2-3 appointments per year and then later once a year.

In addition to these appointments, participation in early intervention services is an essential part of the process of learning to hear with a cochlear implant. Early interventionists are qualified professionals with experience working with babies newly identified with hearing loss. They provide families with the information they need to help their child develop early communication (including listening, language, and speech).

We encourage you to work with your early interventionists and cochlear implant audiologist to discover what communication approaches work best for your own baby and family however, it is important to have an emphasis on auditory training.