Is Alloderm Not Sterile?

AlloDerm is essentially cadaver skin minus any living cells.  It is used as a scaffold through which a persons living cells can grow into.  It has many uses, but, in use his in breast reconstruction.  AlloDerm does not help in mastectomy recovery.  It does however help in breast reconstruction. In this application, AlloDerm was used to cover the lower portion of an implant that spans from the lower border of the pectoralis muscle to the breast fold.  Because AlloDerm is a foreign substance in can always get infected and as such your doctor and you need to pay close attention to the signs and symptoms.  AlloDerm has also been used in nipple augmentation as well as augmentation of other body parts.  Its efficacy is really not known in these realms because it is not common.  Some providers may use AlloDerm for these applications but please note that its most widespread use is particularly in breast reconstruction as well as repair for abdominal wall hernias.  Please speak with a board certified plastic surgeon if you have any specific concerns regarding your care.

Acellular dermal matrix (ADM) is derived from human tissue and has proved very useful in breast reconstruction, hernia repair and a variety of other applications.  Donors to the tissue banks are very carefully screened and consented prior to use of tissue, with only 3% of donors accepted (MTF).  The dermal allograft is then subject to a variety of techniques that clean or sterilize the tissue.  Some of the processes that sterilize the tissue result in damage to the tissue quality, while others maintain the tissue quality while reducing the infective risk to a nationally accepted standard.  Both types of products are available to surgeons and it is usually a question of surgical judgement as to which product is used.