Complications in Cochlear Implantation at the Clinical Center of Vojvodina

The first modern cochlear implantation in Serbia was performed on November 26, 2002 at the Center for Cochlear Implantation of the Clinic for Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases, Clinical Center of Vojvodina.

The aim of the paper is the analysis of intraoperative and postoperative complications. Major complications include those resulting in the necessity for revision surgery, explantation, reimplantation, severe disease or even lethal outcomes. Minor complications resolve spontaneously or can be managed by conservative therapy and do not require any prolonged hospitalization of the patient.

In the 2002-2013 period, 99 patients underwent surgical procedures and 100 cochlear implants were placed. Both intraoperative and postoperative complications were analyzed in the investigated patient population.

The analysis encompassed 99 patients, the youngest and the oldest ones being one year old and 61 years old, respectively. The complications were noticed in 11 patients, i.e. in 10.5% of 105 surgical procedures. The majority of procedures (89.5%) were not accompanied by any post-surgical complications. Unsuccessful implantation in a single-step procedure (4.04%) and transient facial nerve paralysis can be considered most frequent among our patients, whereas cochlear ossification (1.01%) and transient ataxia (2.02%) occurred rarely. Stimulation of the facial nerve (1.01%), intraoperative perilymph liquid gusher (1.01%), device failure and late infections (1.01%) were recorded extremely rarely.

Complications such as electrode extrusion, skin necrosis over the implant or meningitis, which is considered the most severe postoperative complication, have not been recorded at our Center since the very beginning. Absence of postoperative meningitis in patients treated at the Center can be attributed to timely pneumococcal vaccination of children.