Surgical complications following cochlear implantation in adults based on a proposed reporting consensus

Abstract

Conclusion: The rate of severe complications was low and cochlear implantation is a relatively safe procedure. Standardization is crucial when reporting on cochlear implant complications to ensure comparability between studies. A consensus on the reporting of complications proposed by a Danish team of researchers was applied, evaluated and found beneficial. Objectives: To report the surgical complications following cochlear implantation at our centre, applying and evaluating a proposed reporting consensus. Methods: A retrospective file review of 308 consecutive adult implantations in 269 patients between 1994 and 2010 at Odense University Hospital was performed. Results: The three most common major complications were wound infection (1.6%), permanent chorda tympani syndrome (1.6%) and electrode migration/misplacement/accidental removal (1.3%). Permanent facial nerve paresis occurred following one implantation (0.3%). Transient chorda tympani syndrome (30.8%), vertigo/dizziness (29.5%) and tinnitus (4.9%) were the most frequent minor complications.

Keywords::

• Deafness
• hearing loss
• inner ear
• surgery
• CI

Acknowledgments

The study was financially supported by the Oticon Foundation, the Danish Association of the Hard of Hearing (Ingeborg & Emanuel Jensens Legat), the Board of Clinical Directors at OUH (Else Poulsens Minde Legat) and the Danish Association of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Poul Traun-Pedersens Mindelegat).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the study design; collection, analysis and interpretation of data; content and writing of the paper; and the decision to submit the report for publication. The retrospective file review was performed by the first author, who is not one of the surgeons at our centre, to ensure that no surgeon decided which incidences were classified as complications.