Cochlear implantation in a district general hospital: Problems and complications in the first five years

Fifty-three patients, 34 adults and 19 children have been implanted over the first five years of the cochlear implant programme at the North Riding Infirmary (NRI). For a small centre, based at a district general hospital, our complication rates compare favourably with others: 11.7 per cent adult and 10.5 per cent paediatric major complications. Data on all our patients was gathered prospectively as part of the national cochlear implant programme, and we report and discuss all complications from this centre.