In the last year I've taken antibiotics whenever I've had a bacterial infection to avoid a capsule. My surgery was last November. My breasts look beautiful but I've had horrible side effects from the antibiotics I've taken. I now need to get several dental fillings done but do not want to take another round of antibiotics, and don't want to develop a capsule. If I proceed with the dental work a year after surgery with no antibiotics am I jeopardizing the outcome of my surgery?
Answer: Antibiotic Prophylaxsis and Breast Implants Hello,Although I concede that there is no published data yet, I would like to make a few points why I believe it is vital to prophylax with a single dose of antibiotics prior to any non-sterile procedure, including and especially dental cleanings if you have breast implants. First, after nearly two decades of surgery, I have seen a remarkable correlation between unprotected teeth cleaning and subsequent late term capsular contracture, usually within 4 to 6 weeks. Although this is my personal anecdotal evidence, I have had discussions with other surgeons who had also seen the same thing. Second, patients with other implants, including heart valves and orthopedic devices are rigorously encouraged to prophylax prior to non-sterile procedures like teeth cleaning. Why? Because published data shows they are at risk for implant infection, which supports the notions that teeth cleanings induce a bacteremia, and that bacterial seeding can occur on implants. Third, there is a voluminous amount of data supporting the causal association between capsular contracture and bacterial contamination of breast implants, inducing a biofilm. Given this chain of logic, I have been encouraging my patients to prophylax for their lifetime, and have seen no late term contractures in patients that were compliant. I agree with one doctor that unnecessary use of antibiotics are problematic and can lead to not only serious complications, but are part of a world wide problem of bacterial drug resistance. However, there is a big difference between taking a single dose of an antibiotic and taking a longer course. I encourage you to continue taking a single dose of 2000 mg of amoxicillin if you are not penicillin allergic, or 1000 mg of ciprofloxicin if you are penicillin allergic.
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Answer: Antibiotic Prophylaxsis and Breast Implants Hello,Although I concede that there is no published data yet, I would like to make a few points why I believe it is vital to prophylax with a single dose of antibiotics prior to any non-sterile procedure, including and especially dental cleanings if you have breast implants. First, after nearly two decades of surgery, I have seen a remarkable correlation between unprotected teeth cleaning and subsequent late term capsular contracture, usually within 4 to 6 weeks. Although this is my personal anecdotal evidence, I have had discussions with other surgeons who had also seen the same thing. Second, patients with other implants, including heart valves and orthopedic devices are rigorously encouraged to prophylax prior to non-sterile procedures like teeth cleaning. Why? Because published data shows they are at risk for implant infection, which supports the notions that teeth cleanings induce a bacteremia, and that bacterial seeding can occur on implants. Third, there is a voluminous amount of data supporting the causal association between capsular contracture and bacterial contamination of breast implants, inducing a biofilm. Given this chain of logic, I have been encouraging my patients to prophylax for their lifetime, and have seen no late term contractures in patients that were compliant. I agree with one doctor that unnecessary use of antibiotics are problematic and can lead to not only serious complications, but are part of a world wide problem of bacterial drug resistance. However, there is a big difference between taking a single dose of an antibiotic and taking a longer course. I encourage you to continue taking a single dose of 2000 mg of amoxicillin if you are not penicillin allergic, or 1000 mg of ciprofloxicin if you are penicillin allergic.
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Answer: Fillings and dental work 9 months to a year after breast augmentation. Thank you for your question. I would recommend speaking to your plastic surgeon about your concerns as every surgeon has their own protocols.
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Answer: Fillings and dental work 9 months to a year after breast augmentation. Thank you for your question. I would recommend speaking to your plastic surgeon about your concerns as every surgeon has their own protocols.
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August 27, 2017
Answer: Antibiotics for dental work Hi Ms.Confidence,Thank you for your question. There is certainly no literature to support the use of antibiotics with dental work, reducing the risk of capsular contraction. Therefore, any recommendations from your surgeon is based on their experience and judgement. Certainly I would try to avoid any elective dental work for 3-6 months after surgery, but at 1 year out it seems like this should be safe. Of course, I defer to your surgeon's recommendations and would have this discussion with them.Hope that helps.Best,Dr. B
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August 27, 2017
Answer: Antibiotics for dental work Hi Ms.Confidence,Thank you for your question. There is certainly no literature to support the use of antibiotics with dental work, reducing the risk of capsular contraction. Therefore, any recommendations from your surgeon is based on their experience and judgement. Certainly I would try to avoid any elective dental work for 3-6 months after surgery, but at 1 year out it seems like this should be safe. Of course, I defer to your surgeon's recommendations and would have this discussion with them.Hope that helps.Best,Dr. B
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August 27, 2017
Answer: Fillings and dental work 9 months to a year after breast augmentation. Thank you for sharing your question. Each surgeon will have their own recommendations but there has not been any data to show that the antibiotics will prevent a contracture, especially in implants that have healed for nearly a year. Hope this helps.
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August 27, 2017
Answer: Fillings and dental work 9 months to a year after breast augmentation. Thank you for sharing your question. Each surgeon will have their own recommendations but there has not been any data to show that the antibiotics will prevent a contracture, especially in implants that have healed for nearly a year. Hope this helps.
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August 27, 2017
Answer: Fillings and dental work 9 months to a year after breast augmentation. Thank you for your question. Every surgeon has a different opinion on this and those opinions are mostly based on anecdotal information as there is no definitive study about this. Everything in medicine has a risk/benefit ratio and you need to consider that. If the risk of an implant problem with dental work is very small, but the risk of taking antibiotics is also small, then you might take the medication. For you, if you have terrible problems with antibiotics, then you might choose to take that small risk. It is a personal decision and only you can gauge that risk/benefit ratio for yourself. Hope this helps!
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August 27, 2017
Answer: Fillings and dental work 9 months to a year after breast augmentation. Thank you for your question. Every surgeon has a different opinion on this and those opinions are mostly based on anecdotal information as there is no definitive study about this. Everything in medicine has a risk/benefit ratio and you need to consider that. If the risk of an implant problem with dental work is very small, but the risk of taking antibiotics is also small, then you might take the medication. For you, if you have terrible problems with antibiotics, then you might choose to take that small risk. It is a personal decision and only you can gauge that risk/benefit ratio for yourself. Hope this helps!
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