Cranial MRI in a young child with cochlear implants after bilateral magnet removal.

ABSTRACT

A young bilateral cochlear implant (CI) user required magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the cause of hydrocephalus. The images obtained with the CIs in place were not diagnostically useful due to large artefacts generated by the CI magnets. We obtained useful images by bilaterally explanting the CI-magnets and replacing them with non-magnetic placeholder dummies then conducted the imaging. The artefact in the new images was greatly reduced and the images were diagnostically useful. Lastly, we explanted the dummies and reimplanted the CI-magnets. This procedure should be useful to obtain useful images in CI users.