title: Immediate and short-term complications of chronic ear surgery.
abstract: Complications of chronic ear surgery in a series of 2,192 operations are reported. Inadvertent opening of the inner ear occurred in 18 cases, leading to deafness in six ears. Four ears became deaf without apparent cause, for a total of ten (0.5%). High-tone sensorineural losses resulted in 3% of the ears. Facial nerve paralysis occurred in ten ears; in one of these, a graft was employed during primary surgery. All patients had a good recovery. It is stressed that to keep the number of complications at a minimum, strict rules must be followed and sufficient supervision offered in chronic ear surgery in teaching institutions.
mesh_terms: D003638:Deafness / Q000209:etiology; D004423:Ear / Q000601:surgery*; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000293:injuries; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000209:etiology; D006406:Hematoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology