Complications of cochlear implantation: a decade’s experience

Surgery for cochlear implantation is becoming increasingly common. It is a precise surgery and carries with it a number of very specific complications. Although uncommon, they can profoundly affect the recipients’ quality of life. We report on our patients’ population and compare with different series.

This is a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent cochlear implant surgery in our center or who were referred for management of complications between November 2012 and November 2022.

There were 2126 patients aged 9 months-68 years [mean 3.2 yrs] with 147 adults > 18 yrs. The male: female ratio was nearly 1. We are reporting on late complications excluding device failures. There were 186 complications [8.7%], 124 minor complications [66% of the complications, 5.8% of the total population; and 62 major complications [ 33% of the complications and 2.9% of the total]. The commonest minor complication was surgical site infection [16%] and the commonest major complication was flap necrosis and device extrusion [26%].

Complications in our series were comparable to other series from different locations. But there seems to be a difference in the frequency of each complication depending on many factors which must be addressed. Standardization of reporting should be also more homogenized.