[Treatment of infected breast implant in reconstructive surgery].

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Immediate failure in breast surgery with implant is a serious medical complication with negative ramifications for both the patient and the health care system. The classical treatment is removal of the breast implant and delay reconstruction. Our objective is to show that this standard treatment is not the good one in many cases, and abundant irrigation with implant salvage is a sure and effective alternative.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between January 2001 and December 2009, among the 680 patients who had a breast reconstruction, 18 were operated using the same protocol treatment by the same surgeon: implant removal, irrigation, implant replacement, antibiotic treatment.

RESULTS

After a median month follow-up period of 30 months, definitive conservation of the breast implant was obtained in all of the cases.

CONCLUSION

This preliminary study provides encouraging results in a selected patient population improving the possibility of a conservative treatment according to a precise and rigourous protocol.