Infections in composite tissue allograft recipients.

This article summarizes infectious complications in recipients of facial and hand composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) and reviews infection prophylaxis practices. Infectious complications after CTA are common. In the early postoperative period, serious bacterial infections are more often reported in facial CTA recipients than in hand CTA recipients. Rejection and concomitant viral reactivation of herpes family viruses cause significant morbidity after the immediate postoperative period. Invasive fungal infection is an uncommon complication. Infection prophylaxis practices typically include early antibacterial prophylaxis during the perioperative period and cytomegalovirus, pneumocystis, and toxoplasma prophylaxis for several months after transplantation.