Will lip filler put me at higher risk of breast implant biofilm?

I must be honest with you, I think the notion of this biofilm seems to be overhyped and is really just fancy speak.  If you want the lowest chance of capsular contracture,  go with smooth saline implants under the muscle.  Saline implants have far less risk of contracture than silicone, though many plastic surgeons don't necessarily agree on this. Other than this, plastic surgeons still truly don't know the exact cause of capsular contracture, even after all these years.  The cause or causes are pure speculation.

Hello,Granulomatous lumps from filler (biofilm) are usually due to inadequate skin cleansing prior to injection.  Similarly, capsular contracture is most commonly due to ignoring basic facts: nipples and milk ducts are colonized with bacteria, not just skin. Your risk of capsular contracture with specialists that abide by the rules established by data is 1%.  These rules include: biodimensional planning of your implant, inframammary incision, covering the nipples during surgery, all electrocautery dissection, triple antibiotic irrigation of pockets with half strength Betadine, and delivery of implants with a funnel. Best of luck!

Hello, and thanks for the question. A biofilm is considered a "subclinical" infection in the sense that the bacteria are stopped from spreading by your immune system, but they are never completely wiped out. There is a kind of chronic inflammatory situation that occurs when this happens on the surface of a breast implant, and the body's response is to thicken the natural scar tissue that occurs around the implant (called the "capsule"). This thickening is called "capsular contracture" and it can make the implant (and the breast) feel firm, or even hard. In more advanced contractures, there may even be shape changes and pain. In these cases, the only real treatment is to remove the implant and the surrounding capsule (capsulectomy) and a new implant can be placed in the pocket at that time. Because this is a potentially serious complication of breast implants, a lot of time has been spent on trying avoid it, but contracture rates remain in the 10 to 30% range.How do the bacteria enter the pocket and create this biofilm on the implant? Possibly contamination at the time of surgery. Even though the skin has been prepped and should be sterile in the surgical procedure, there may be bacteria beneath the surface of the skin or in the lactiferous ducts that run through the breast tissue, especially near the nipple and areola. Many plastic surgeons have begun limiting their incisions to beneath the breast and have adopted a "no touch" technique where the implant is placed through a sterile sleeve into the pocket, so it won't touch the wound edges or skin. Additionally, the use of triple antibiotic solutions to irrigate the pocket and IV antibiotics during the procedure are commonplace to avoid infection and capsular contracture. The use of a class of allergy drugs called "leukotriene inhibitors" has also been employed in the fight against contractures.I have never seen a biofilm developing in the presence of a filler like Juvederm, so it is difficult to say if you are at higher risk. I would venture to say it is unlikely that this predisposes you to a capsular contracture. I would simply have the conversation with your plastic surgeon regarding your concerns, and make sure that surgeon is taking all the necessary precautions.