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Updated: May 21, 2025
Author Spotlight: Advancements in Impedance Monitoring for Cochlear Implant Surgery
Published on: August 4, 2023
Complications in 2000 adult and paediatric cochlear implants: what to expect and when
Vittoria Sykopetrites1, Eleonora Sica1, Flavia Di Maro1
1Department of Audiovestibology, ASST dei Sette Laghi, Varese, Italy.
Insights
Complications occurred in 8.9% of pediatric and 12% of adult cochlear implants (CIs) over long-term follow-up. Monitoring CI complications is crucial for patient management and device efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Neurosurgery
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Cochlear implants (CIs) are vital for hearing restoration in severe hearing loss.
- Understanding complication rates is essential for optimizing patient outcomes and surgical techniques.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of intra- and postoperative complications in adult and pediatric cochlear implant recipients.
- To analyze complication types and their management over an extended follow-up period.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 2000 consecutive cochlear implant cases.
- Inclusion of both adult and pediatric patient cohorts.
- Long-term follow-up data collection and analysis.
Main Results:
- Complication rates were 8.9% in pediatric CI users and 12% in adult CI users.
- Common pediatric complications included seroma (1.8%), while adults experienced vertigo (2.5%).
- Surgical revision was necessary for acute otitis media, abscess, device failure, cholesteatoma, and chronic otitis media, with varying rates of CI explantation.
Conclusions:
- Long-term monitoring of cochlear implant complications is fundamental for clinical practice.
- Specific complications require different management strategies, ranging from conservative treatment to surgical revision and reimplantation.
Objective:
To identify the incidence of intra- and postoperative complications of adult and paediatric cochlear implants (CIs) in a large cohort with long follow-up.
Methods:
Retrospective chart analysis of 2000 consecutive cases of CI in a single institution.
Results:
8.9% of paediatric CIs developed a complication after a mean period of 5.5 ± 5.8 years. 12% of adult CIs developed a complication after a mean period of 3.5 ± 5.3 years.
Abstract:
Seroma was the most frequent paediatric complication (1.8%), after a mean of 8.9 ± 5.4 years, while vertigo was the most common complaint in adults (2.5%), emerging in the first year. Both complications were generally managed conservatively. Acute otitis media or abscess with extrusion of the receiver/stimulator required surgical revision, with or without CI explantation, in 23.5% and 76.9% of cases, respectively. Cholesteatoma or chronic otitis media were always treated surgically and required CI explantation in 86.7% of cases. All cases complicated by device failure (1.2% and 0.8% of paediatric and adult CIs, respectively) were treated with CI explantation and reimplantation, and emerged after a mean of 5 ± 4 years.
Conclusions:
Knowledge and decades long monitoring of the complications related to CIs are fundamental.
