Does Alloderm cause infections?

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.

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.