Quantitative assessment of temporal skin elasticity using shear wave elastography in pediatric cochlear implant users

Abstract Objective To evaluate temporal skin thicknesses and stiffness values using shear wave elastography (SWE) in asymptomatic pediatric patients who underwent cochlear implantation. Subjects and Methods. Sixty-four deafened pediatric patients with unilateral cochlear implant (CI) who had no complications were enrolled. The age, sex, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), CI side, duration of CI use and CI device brand of all participants were noted. Temporal skin thickness and stiffness values were measured from implanted and contralateral unimplanted sides using SWE. Results The mean skin thickness measurements of implanted and unimplanted sides were 11.87±3.42 and 5.34±1.56 mm, respectively. The mean skin stiffness measurements of implanted and unimplanted sides were 3.08±0.7 and 1.29±0.26 m/s, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in skin thickness and stiffness between implanted and unimplanted sides (P Conclusion Temporal skin thickness and stiffness increase after CI surgery. SWE has the potential to improve diagnostic accuracy, and our results may provide important data for evaluation of clinical entities that affect temporal skin structures.