Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation on an explanted cochlear implant demonstrated using an ultrasonication technique.

Relevance: Biofilm forming microorganisms are responsible for the infection of a number of different indwelling medical devices including cochlear implants. The current definitive technique for proving biofilm infection is the use of scanning electron microscopy that is expensive and of limited availability.

Clinical Presentation: A persistently infected cochlear implant was explanted.