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).