After Breast Augmentation I've Been Told I'll Need Antibiotics Every Time I Have any Procedure, True?

My PS says that after my BA(silicone) I have to be treated like having e.g. an artificial heart valve, so everytime I have any procedure done (including going to the dentist) I should ask for antibiotics. Is that true? What does this include? Do I need antibiotics everytime I have my teeth cleaned (every 6months!)?? Does it just mean 'surgery'? During what 'procedures' do I need prophylactic antibiotics? What about sicknesses (cold, flu), do I always need antibiotics then, too?

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9 Doctor Answers | Asked by KateAUS

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Antibiotic use after breast augmentation

Antibiotic use after breast augmentation will likely become a very discussed topic in the next several years after more studies are published about the risk of capsular contracture. True implant infections are relatively rare so having antibiotics long term after breast augmentation is unnecessary to prevent clinical infections. More information is developing about reasons for accelerated capsular contracture and most of it points to subclinical contamination around... more

Using Antibiotics Before Procedures After Having Breast Augmentation

In my opinion and in my practice, I do not recommend taking antibiotics before having procedures; like having teeth cleaning. There is no hard scientific data that I know of stating that is it necessary.

After Breast Augmentation I've Been Told I'll Need Antibiotics Every Time I Have any Procedure, True?

I think we used to think that, but my feeling is that the latest studies on breast implants and antibiotics show that they may not even be needed after the original surgery, let alone down the road and dental work...Most of us feel better giving our patients antibiotics for a few days after surgery but that may change with time, but I do not have my patients do anything after dental work.

Breast Augmentation and Antibiotics before Procedures?

Thank you for the question. Although you will find differing opinions on the necessity/efficacy of antibiotics prior to procedures, I know of no scientific basis/study that documents a decrease incidence of encapsulation or any other problem associated with breast implants. I hope this helps.

Breast Augmentation & Prophylactic Antibiotics

I personally do not ask my patients to take prophylactic antibiotics before teeth cleaning, etc. To my knowledge, I have never had an infected breast implant in over 25 years of augmentation mammoplasties.

Prophylactic antibiotics after breast augmentation

I do not routinely advise patients to take antibiotics prophylactically for other procedures after breast augmentation. There is nothing in the literatue that I kowo of that supports this recommendation.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Antibiotics needed for dental work after implants?

This is an interesting idea, though we have been performing breast augmentation for 30 years, and we never recommend antibiotics with any subsequent dental or surgical procedure. After implants are settled in and fully healed most would agree, with or without antibiotics infection is a very rare event indeed. Medical evidence to the contrary is lacking. Best of luck, Peter Johnson, MD

Antibiotics after Breast Augmentation

The advice you received is related to the total hip and knee literature. The more recent literature shows that patients seed more bacteria during flossing than during procedures. I do not use antibiotics after augmentation. That said, I might recommend them if you had something done in the first 2 weeks after augmentation.

Antibiotics not needed for any procedure after breast augmentation

The same rules apply for women with breast implants as for anyone who has any foreign material implanted in her body (e.g. prosthetic joint, vascular stent, heart valve, etc.). That is, if you are going to undergo any procedure which carries with it the risk of getting bacteria in your blood stream, you should have antibiotic prophylaxis. In general, those procedures are the ones involving the GI tract (e.g., dental procedures, colonoscopy) and GYN procedures (e.g., D&C.... more