baha abutment "sinking"

[darrensgirl]

Hi I am a newbie, and have a few questions. My son has had his baha "site" for almost a year now. He showed me this morning that the abutment is "sinking" and getting closer to his skull. Should I be concerned or is this normal? We have recently moved and am not close to his ENT who did the surgery, should I find one here that knows about this and talk to them or am I worrying for nothing. This is all new to the both of us, and I dont really recall them saying anything about it sinking.   thanks for any and all help:)

[moe]

Hi and Welcome
Maybe give your ENT a call & ask but I think as long as there is room for the device to snap on, he may be OK. It also may be that either the abutment is "sinking" or his skin is growing up, making it appear that it IS sinking. I had a BAHA post op AN surgery, and would use a  q tip to kind of push the skin down around the abutment. So that is another option. Is there any unusual pain or discomfort?
Hope that helps
Maureen

[darrensgirl]

No he isnt complaing of pain. He just told me this morning that it was getting smaller....his words lol. so I looked at it and it looks fine, I was worried he got hit in the head or something like that. He swears he didnt. He can still snap on the device and it still works just fine. I guess maybe I will try the q tip thing and see what happens there. Thanks a lot hopefully I dont have to call his Dr. We moved to NC from OH recently and he dont have an ENT just yet

[Denise S]

You mention not having an ENT yet.    Just a thought:   go to the http://www.cochlearamericas.com/ website and under the "Support" heading & you should be able to "Find a clinic" and look for a city near where you are in OH.   They seem to keep the site updated.   (this 'thought' just might help in directing you to an ENT or specialist who works with the BAHA)

Sorry I can't answer your question, I don't have a BAHA, but hoping to....waiting for insurance.

Denise

[leapyrtwins]

My BAHA surgery was a little over 2 years ago and I had sinking - which is very normal (supposed to happen actually) - but mine was in the few weeks post op while my site was still healing.

I don't know how common sinking is so long after the implant surgery.

I'm not a doctor, but my feeling is as long as your son has no other issues with the site that everything is okay.  If the abutment isn't loose or touching the skin on his head (sunk too much) I wouldn't worry.

But that said, you should probably consult a doctor who does BAHA implants.  Dr. Myles Pensak (Cincinnati, OH) is a wonderful doctor and I know he implants BAHAs since he spoke about them at the last ANA Symposium.  If you are anywhere near Cincinnati, you might want to schedule an appt. with him  You'll find Dr. Pensak's information on the ANA main page under "medical resources".

Denise's suggestion of the Cochlear website is also a great one; the site in general is a tremendous resource - check out the Cochlear Community which is for CI and BAHA users and candidates.

Good luck.  Please keep us posted.

Best,

Jan

[leapyrtwins]

We moved to NC from OH recently and he dont have an ENT just yet

Sorry, from Denise's post I thought you were in OH 

I don't know any docs in NC - and I didn't see any in the ANA's medical center/physician listings.  The Cochlear site might be your best best.

Jan

[Denise S]

Funny, I was reading it wrong...thought she did move to OH     oops

[grega]

Hi grneyed grl,

My ENT just created my baha site on tax-day, and since then, seems that my site is similar to your son's.  I don't think my baha-butment is sinking, but the skin is healing a bit higher and closer to that thing than I envisioned.  I'll ask my ENT bout this when I see him next week, but am not worried.

But if you're concerned, it might be very helpful to email or mail a photo of the site back to your son's OH ENT.... with your full discussion and questions.  If you call, they'll probably give you their email address.  That ENT might also be able to lead you to one close to your NC location. 

Good luck!

Greg