Unexpected findings and surgical complications in 505 consecutive cochlear implantations: a proposal for reporting consensus

Abstract

The overall complication rate was 29.1%, with a major complication rate of 1.8%. When deducting vertigo/disequilibrium, the overall complication rate was 18.3%. Adults had a complication rate of 58.8%, 1.6% being major. Vertigo/disequilibrium was the most common complication (25%), followed by wound infection (8.9%) and transient chorda tympani syndrome (5.7%). In the paediatric group, complications occurred in 14.7%, 1.9% being major. The children suffered most frequently from wound infection (3.8%), vertigo/disequilibrium (2.2%) and haematoma/oedema (2.2%).

Surgical Results and Complications of Cochlear Implantation in Far-Advanced Otosclerosis

“…No chorda tympani syndrome cases were encountered in the present case series. This was also somewhat unexpected, since it is reportedly a frequent condition [7] . However, the presently reported complication rate should take the inherent limitations of a retrospective case file study into account, as some less serious complications, such as the chorda tympani syndrome, may be underreported.…”

“…Vertigo is a common complication of CI [7,11,14] . Consistent with otosclerosis as a recognized cause of vestibular complaints, four patients experienced vertigo prior to the surgery [14,15] .…”

“…Postoperative complications were grouped into "major" and "minor" according to the criteria proposed by Hansen et al [7] .…”

“…In cases where this treatment is inadequate, cochlear implantation (CI) is considered the best available option [3,[6][7][8] . Although based on a small case series, it has been reported that CI in FAO may be associated with a variety of challenges both during and after surgery [7,[9][10][11] . Thus, to contribute to the literature, this study presents the surgical results of CI using successful electrode insertion in FAO at our tertiary referral center.…”

Fehler und Gefahren: Ohrchirurgie und Chirurgie der lateralen Schädelbasis

“…Wie bereits unter 2.2 dargelegt, muss zwischen der subjektiven Angabe von Schwindelsymptomen und objektivierbaren pathologischen vestibulären Befunden unterschieden werden, welche auch nach Cochlea-Implantationen nicht regelmäßig miteinander korrelieren [ 6 ] . Vorübergehende Gleichgewichtsbeschwerden werden als die häufi gste geringgradige Komplikation nach einer Cochlea-Implantation benannt [ 219 ] . Die Angaben schwanken hier in der Literatur zwischen 0,33 und 75 % der operierten Patienten [ 251 ] , wobei die häufi gsten Werte zwischen 30 und 60 % liegen [ 5 ] .…”