Breast Augmentation: Q&A

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Staph Infection after Breast Augmentation?

I underwent Breast Augmentation a year ago. I was fine until i fell backwards while walking. My left breast swelled up, and it felt hot and painful. I went to the surgeon and he had to take the implant out to take a biopsy. He said it was staph infection. I don't understand, where could I have gotten it?

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infection staph infection 1 year post-op

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16 Doctor Answers | Asked by soniamm455 in sacramento

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Infection after Implants Rare

Sorry to hear of your injury. Your description is suggestive of bleeding around the implant, from the fall. It is possible for the hematoma (blood clot) to become infected. Unfortunately, once an implant becomes infected, it must be removed. Replacement should not be undertaken for at least 3 months after all signs of infection are clear.

Long standing infections

You've asked a complicated question. Usually infections of breast implants show up immediately. A year is usually enough time for your body to heal the incisions and form scar tissue around the implants which protects them somewhat. However, it is possible to have implants get infected at any time - especially if there have been other procedures performed (including piercing, dental work or other surgeries). Some plastic surgeons will recommend their patients take antibiotics before any... more

Infection after breast augmentation

Hello, Hard to know what happended. The story you describe is rare as infections occur early. It would be helpful to have seen your breast photo after the fall. There is a possibilty, although rare, to seed the implant with bacteria after it enters your body. This is the reasoning some plastic surgeons recommend antibiotics before dental procedures and the same reason patients with prosthetic valves take antibiotics before procedures. All the best, Dr Repta more

Breast Infection

Tough call....Staph comes in many forms (Aureus, Epidermidis, etc.) but are most commonly from a skin source. Staph can also live in one's nose...Bacteria live everywhere and many times right along with us, until an event occurs (as dramatic as falling and scraping/cutting your knee skin....or even as unassuming as brushing your teeth : YES, every time you brush your teeth, you shower your blood stream with bacteria!), the bacteria can cause an infection. I suggest to all my patients more

Infections are uncommon after breast augmentation.

Infections are uncommon after breast augmentation. Most infections are detected in the first weeks or months after augmentation, only rarely is an infection identified later. It is difficult to say why your infection occurred so late after the surgery. It is possible that your fall had something to do with creating a small amount of bleeding in the tissue around the implant and that you had some bacteria in that blood. (It is not uncommon to have small amounts of bacteria... more

Infections can occur at any time after breast augmentation

Infection following breast augmentation is very rare. When infections do occur, they most commonly do so in the first two weeks after surgery. Delayed infections that occur, weeks, months or even years after surgery do occur, but are exceedingly rare. If you do suspect any type of breast infection after you have had breast augmentation, it needs to brought to your surgeon's attention immediately so that you can have the best chance of salvaging your implants.

Staph infection and breast implants

This is a difficult question to answer in your situation. An infection of a breast implant a year after surgery is quite uncommon. The association with your fall is also unusual. When breast implant infections do occur, it is usually in the first few weeks after surgery. Once the capsule develops, the implant becomes essentially isolated from the body. It is possible to seed an implant through the bloodstream (for instance, after dental cleanings). If there was trauma to your breast from the... more

David Bogue, MD

6 reviews

Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon

www.drbogue.com

Infection after breast augmentation is rare.

Infection after breast augmentation is rare. Seeing on emerge one year after surgery is rarer than rare, although I have seen it myself. Probably the breast cavity was seeded by bacteria in the blood that got there from a remote infection or from an even that can dump bacteria in the blood. Removing the implant, allowing the inflammation to subside, and then replacing the implant in a few months is a ration treatment plan.

Infection after breast augmentation

Although uncommon, nfection is one of the known risks after breast augmentation. This can lead to significant problems and may even lead to the loss of the breast implant or the future development of six scarring known as a capsular contracture. If the patient is concerned that they may have infection they are encouraged to immediately see their plastic surgeon. A board-certified plastic surgeon will use their experience and judgment to assess the breast and implant and help determine... more

Rapid swelling is more consistent with bleeding

Hello, The story you tell makes me think of bleeding. Rapid swelling and pain after a fall is not the typical story for an infection. Your case sounds like an accident.

Breast swelling

Your story is not typical. Perhaps you had suffered abrasions of your chest that made the chest swell. It is hard to know without examining you at the time of your injury or during yoru early follow-up. Staph infections, if they are just on the skin, can usually be treated with oral antibiotic. But if they are found in the breast capsule, then the implant rightfully should be removed.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Hard to know where it came from

Early infections are much more common that ones presenting a year later. The source of the infection is usually from the blood and not a direct cut at the site. If you had a seroma (fluid collection) or hematoma (blood collection) that has been present since the surgery, it would be possible for that to get infected from the blood stream. Also, your fall could have created a local traumatic event and a local hematoma. Similarly, that could get infected in the same way. Most importantly,... more

No real way to know where your infection started

There was really no choice but to remove the implant. Once an implant becomes infected there is no way to clear the infection without removal. It is highly unusual for an implant to become infected one year after the surgery. There are reports of remote site infections due to an increased number of bacteria in the blood stream. This could potentially com from something as simple as a dental cleaning. Since the gums are very vascular it is easy to push bacteria in to the blood stream. ... more

I'm sorry you went through that.

During the education and information portion of you preoperative consultation, your surgeon likely mentioned the risk of infection. Implant area infections are uncommon. Most often they occur within weeks after the initial surgery. Late infections like you describe are more unusual, but not unheard-of. It may sound strange, but physicians suspect that the bacteria arise from your own body, and may arrive through the bloodstream instead of through an incision on your skin. That is why... more

Above or below the muscle?

This is an interesting scenario, and is another clinical observation that supports the notion that breast implants placed in the sub-pectoral space (behind the muscle) are probably more isolated and protected from transient episodes of bacteremia (like after a dental cleaning or certain types of surgery), and thusly are less likely to become exposed to bacterial infection. Implants in the subglandular position (on top of the muscle) are in direct contact with the breast. The breast lobules... more

Possible Infected Hematoma

Staph infection following Breast Augmentation generally appears within the first 7-10 days after surgery. Under this circumstance, it is usually caused by a break in surgical technique or contamination of the implant, generally from bacteria resident on the patient's skin. Delayed Staph infection, occurring nearly a year after Breast Augmentation, and without any prior problems, probably has a different cause. Trauma to the breast may cause bleeding in the space around the implant. This... more