I Had Breast Augmentation Surgery Post Op Problems?

On June 29,2012 I had breast augmentation surgery, 2 months later my incision opened due to infection and the implant was removed. At the six month mark the other implant was erroding through the skin and was infected and had to be removed. What could have caused all these problems?

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infection 6 months post-op

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6 Doctor Answers | Asked by kristodd

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Breast implant infection

An infection around a cosmetic breast implant is extremely rare, and having it occur on both sides is even less likely. As others have noted, bacteria can enter into the area around a foreign body (implant) from another source in the body - an infected tooth or bladder, for example. Considering how many women have breast implants and the fact that they get occasional infections throughout the years, it is still very unusual for an implant to become infected. I'm... more

Implant infection

Occasionally there may be a likely suspect as the cause, such as a bacterial infection elsewhere in the body, but usually the cause for this uncommon complication is not apparent. Somewhere between the start of surgery and the presentation of the the infection some bacteria were introduced to the area of the implant and this outdid the body's immune system. If you decide to have these replaced, wait a minimum of three months from the time that the wound is completely healed. Thanks for... more

Post op infection- extremely rare

I'm so sorry for you. That is a very frustrating thing for the patient and the surgeon because most of the time there is not a good explanation. Theoretically if you have an infection of any kind (pneumonia, bladder, etc.) it can spread to the implants. This is extremely rare as I'm sure you have been told. Hopefully all will heal up and the implants can be replaced. Good luck.

Breast Augmentation Infections

Some plastic surgeons may remove both implants at the time of an implant infection, while others may only remove the one. I am not sure that either approach can be faulted. Once the infection has been treated appropriately, another set of implants can be placed after 3 months. If a patient has no history of immunosuppression, then replacement is not unreasonable.

Breast implant infection

An infection with breast implants is not that common but does happen. Why it happened to you in both breasts at different times may never be known.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Breast Implant infection

Breast implant infection after breast augmentation is very rare, less than one percent. Any surgery has the risk of infection. Though breast implant surgery is considered a clean surgery, infection happens rarely. Unfortunately it happened to you. The reason is very difficult to pinpoint. In general when we think of the reasons possible, it could be breakdown in sterile field remote infection somewhere else in the body bacteria from the breast tissue contacting the... more