Who’s afraid of Dura Mater?

Abstract

Objectives

To overcome the fear associated with conventional nomenclature related to different anatomic positions for Bonebridge.

Methods

Bonebridge is an active transcutaneous semi-implantable bone conduction device available for clinical use since 2012. Bonebridge is indicated in patients with conductive and mild mixed hearing loss and a bone conduction threshold above 45 dB. This situation can be mainly found in patients with aural atresia, radical cavities, chronic otitis media and selected cases of otosclerosis not suitable for stapedectomy or hearing aids. The initial proposal was to position the implant in the mastoid, adjacent to the external ear canal. This position cannot be used in patients with radical cavities and should not be used in patients with aural atresia to avoid complications of future ear reconstructive surgery. New positions were soon implemented in the retrosigmoid and the middle fossa areas. However, the terms “retrosigmoid” and “middle fossa” are clearly linked to skull base surgery and create reluctancy among a large number of potential users.

Results

To avoid the negative reaction of otologic surgeons to these names we propose the use of easy to remember names related to the anatomic location of the implant. These names have been presented to the scientific community in meetings over the last decade and are now published in this short paper.

Conclusion

The new nomenclature proposed for the different anatomic positions available for Bonebridge is designed to stop the association between Bonebridge and skull base surgery.

Level of evidence

Level 2.