Does Alloderm cause infections?

Alloderm is an acellular dermal matrix that is used for breast reconstruction most commonly but also revision breast augmentation to hide ripples or abdominal hernia repair. All allografts, as there are many, are human cadaveric skin which has been sterilized. Our bodies use the allograft as a scaffold in which to incorporate (grow into) new tissue. You can think of the allograft as a type of "skin graft". Allograft has been very well studied in breast cancer reconstruction and is known to have a higher infection rate(~15% higher) and seroma rate (~10% higher) than traditional breast recon. (Seroma = collection of fluid) However the infection and seroma rates can be effectively lowered by good patient selection (non smoker, no diabetes, no obesity), and good surgical technique (good hydration of the allograft prior to placement, strict hemostasis, proper drain placement and time (typically 5-7 days), securing the allograft for stability to prevent sheering forces, and proper orientation of the allograft (there's an up and a down side)).

Even with the higher rate of inection and seroma I think the allograft is a valuable tool in the plastic surgeons ability to achieve a beautiful result. Talk with your surgeon more about the risks and how to mitigate them. I hope this helps.

The addition of any foreign body  ( including Alloderm or any other Acellular dermal graft)into the tissues carries the risk of infection

This is more common in high risk patients

Obesity, diabetics , radiation ,patients on steroids,poor tissues and patients requiring large pieces of graft