Surgical Complications of Cochlear Implantation

Cochlear implantation is a method used for the treatment of patients with profound hearing loss. This procedure may the accompanied by some major or minor complications. We evaluated the surgical complications of cochlear implantation in Fars province (south of Iran). A total of 150 patients with cochlear implantation were enrolled in the present study. Most of the patients were pre-lingual children and most of our devices were nucleus prosthesis. We had three device failures and four major complications, including one misplaced electrode, one case of meningitis, one case of foreign body reaction to suture and one case with extensive hematoma. These complications were managed successfully by surgical intervention or re-implantation. Facial nerve damage or wound breakdown was not seen. Minor complications including small hematoma, edema, stitch infection and dizziness were found in 15 cases, which were managed medically. In our center, the rate of minor complications was comparable to other centers in the world. But the rate of major surgical complications was lower than other centers. Iran J Med Sci 2009; 35(1): 53-56.