Can Common Cold or Bacterial Infection Infect Chin Implant?

asked 1 year ago by J Q in Austin, Texas
Latest answer by William Portuese, MD
Question viewed 455 times
Tags: bacteria, cold, infection

Hi, I am curious to know if any other sort of infection (viral or bacterial) can possibly infect the chin implant ? Also, are diabetes or high blood pressure patients more prone to chin implan infections ? Thanks

12 answers to Can Common Cold or Bacterial Infection Infect Chin Implant?

Infection of chin implant

The chance of having an infection in the chin implant is extremely rare. We place patients on antibiotics prior to and directly after the surgery. A viral inflammation will not affect the chin implant. Other medical issues, such as diabetes or high blood pressure will not affect the chin implant procedure. This is done under local anesthesia with a small one-half inch incision placed in the submental area, not through the mouth.

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

Chin implant can become infected with bacteria but not cold virus.

If you have a stable, well-healed, chin implant in place, infection from an external source such as a common cold virus is generally not possible. Treat your symptoms accordingly. Even with bacterial infections such as strep throat, tonsil or tooth abscess, ear infection, or urinary tract infection (to name a few examples), secondarily infecting a completely-healed chin implant is very rare, though theoretically possible. Antibiotic therapy for the primary infection should... more

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS
Minneapolis Plastic Surgeon

Infection of Chin Implant

Hi FrankJ in Austin, Texas, Chin implants are commonly performed as adjunct procedure with rhinoplasty, face lift, or neck lift. While silicone is preferred by many plastic surgeons, other material may also be used to build the chin. Being a foreign material, there is always a potential risk of implant infection, specifically bacterial. Some signs or symptoms may include pain, swelling, redness, or fever over the area. Patients with diabetes are generally higher risk of any type... more

Houtan Chaboki, MD
Washington DC Facial Plastic Surgeon

How likely are chin implants to become infected?

Having recently reviewed the literature on this topic for a presentation, I can tell you that the risk of a chin implact becoming infected is low, less than one percent. That said, most surgeons are very meticulous when placing any foreign material as an implant infection almost always will require removal of the implant.

Joseph Campanelli, MD
Minneapolis Facial Plastic Surgeon

Implant Infections

Regarding: "Can Common Cold or Bacterial Infection Infect Chin Implant? Hi, I am curious to know if any other sort of infection (viral or bacterial) can possibly infect the chin implant ? Also, are diabetes or high blood pressure patients more prone to chin implan infections ? Thanks" All man made implants (breast, chin, joints, etc) CAN be infected by bacterial infections elsewhere in the body. These infections are overwhelmingly bacterial and there are no reports of... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Chin implant infection

Any bacterial infection you have can travel to a surgical site or to an implant and cause it to become infected and require its removal. Not with viral though.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Can Common Cold or Bacterial Infection Infect Chin Implant?

The answer is not really but the statistical significance is slightly higher with these queried medical issues. From MIAMI Dr. Darryl J. Blinski

Darryl J. Blinski, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Chin implant infection

Chin implant infections are rare but do happen and the ones to be concerned about are from bacteria.

Peter T. Truong, MD
Fresno Oculoplastic Surgeon

Chin implant infections

Bacteria would infect the implant, vs. virus. Any systemic disease has the potential to increase infection risks. sek

Scott E. Kasden, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon

Spread of an infection to a chin implant

Any diabetic, but particularly longstanding poorly controlled, patient theoretically has a higher rate of implant infection due to mildy compromised immune system and vascularity. Theoretically bacteremic spread to a chin implant is possible but not likely.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Infections in chin implants

Once your implants have stabilized a few weeks, it is rare, but possible to encounter a bacterial infection of the implant. Diabetes may increase the risks along with other concommitant medical issues, although hypertension is not usually associated with infections directly. Antibiotics can be effective, but many implant infections that don't improve with simple antibiotics will require removal to clear the infections.