How to Recognize Infection Symptoms After Breast Augmentation?

Infection is a rare complication of routine primary breast augmentation. Typical symptoms include redness, warmth, fever, pain and drainage. Notifying your plastic surgeon early and starting an antibiotic is the right step and can often treat the problem. If you do not respond to the treatment then a different antibiotic may be indicated and if the problem persists, rarely it may be necessary to reoperate and replace or remove the implant.

Redness alone is not enough to make the diagnosis of an implant infection.  Sometimes the skin or the breast tissue can become inflamed.  If the implant is not involved, it can improve with antibiotics.  This may increase the risk of capsular contracture.  You need to have close follow up with the plastic surgeon.

Infection after breast augmentation will usually involve local increase in temperature, which might result in redness of the skin. That can also affect your systemic temperature. You might feel nauseous, fatigued, and in rare cases where there is an abscess formation, you might see an increase in the size of the breast.

Redness after a breast augmentation can happen for a number of different reasons that are not all due to infection. Close follow up with your plastic surgeon is recommended. 

Thank you for your question. It sounds like your surgeon is doing the right things in terms of putting you on antibiotics. The next step to determine if you have an infection would be to have some lab work done and an ultrasound performed to see if you have a fluid collection. But, go with what your surgeon advices; he knows the details of your case.