Immediate and short-term complications of chronic ear surgery.

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.