Incidence of postoperative complications
None of the 11 patients had serious postoperative complications in the short term. However, 2 patients had otitis externa mycotica, which was detected during the follow-up examinations; their condition was relieved by the application of anti-fungal topical ointment. The patient who refused surgeon’s advice was noted to have an exposed electrode in the right external auditory canal 12 months postoperatively (Fig. 3a), and the intracochlear electrode array was completely migrated 28 months postoperatively (Fig. 3b). Therefore, the patient accepted and underwent STP, external auditory canal elimination, mastoid cavity obliteration by fat graft, and cochlear reimplantation during the second operation (Fig. 3c).