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 programmed at the North Riding Infirmary (NRI). For a small centre, based at a district general hospital, our complication rate compare favourably with others: 11.7 per cent adult and 10.5 per cent paediatric major complications. Data on all patients was gathered prospectively as part of the national cochlear implant programme, and we report and discuss all complications from this centre.