Can breast expanders get infected?

A small percentage of patients develop an infection around the expander. While this may occur at any time, it’s most often seen within a few weeks after the expander is inserted. In some cases, the expander may need to be removed for several months until the infection clears. A new expander can then be inserted.

How do I know if my tissue expander is infected?

Sometimes a bacterial infection can develop in the tissue around a breast implant or tissue expander during the days or weeks following the reconstruction surgery. Symptoms of an infection can include a high fever and breast pain, redness and/or swelling.

How do you treat a tissue expander infection?

The most commonly utilized empiric oral regimen was minocycline, ciprofloxacin, and rifampin (14 cases), and the most common combined intravenous and oral regimen was daptomycin, cefepime and rifampin (4 cases), or daptomycin, ciprofloxacin and rifampin (2 cases).

How often do tissue expanders get infected?

Objective. The rate of postmastectomy tissue expander (TE) infection remains excessively high, ranging between 2% and 24%.

How do you know if you have an infection after breast surgery?

Infections can have many signs and symptoms such as fever, chills, redness, swelling and infectious discharge either directly at the wound site or in the surrounding area. If this occurs, the patient needs to contact their surgeon immediately.

What does an infection after breast surgery look like?

Local and/or systemic signs of infection in the first 6 weeks after surgical procedures are well characterized as early-onset infections. Swelling, flushing, breast pain, and purulent discharge through surgical wounds are the common local signs accompanied by fever and systemic symptoms of infection.

How do I know if my breast is infected after surgery?

Wound Infection

1. The wound feels tender, swollen or warm to touch (this can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from normal post operative bruising and swelling)
2. Redness in the area.
3. Discharge from the wound.
4. Feeling generally unwell with fever.

How do you know if your tissue expander is leaking?

Signs and Symptoms The rupture of a breast tissue expander may not be all that noticeable at first. You may experience a gradual decrease in the size of your breast or notice that the shape of your breast has suddenly (or gradually) changed.

How long after breast surgery can you get an infection?

Infection is a possible complication in breast implant surgery especially during the first six months after surgery.

How common is infection after breast surgery?

While most women who have breast cancer surgery WON’T develop an infection, a study found that infections after breast surgery happen more often than expected. This study found: More than 1 in 20 women (a little higher than 5%) developed an infection at the site of the incision after breast surgery.

Why do my breast expanders hurt so much?

The tissue expansion process is done after mastectomies to increase the submuscular space in preparation for the placement of permanent breast implant. The process is often believed to be painful by patients who are often intimidated by the prospect of mechanically stretching out their skin and muscle.

What causes infections after breast surgery?

Many infections after surgery happen because of germs in the hospital environment. The steps that will be taken before, during, and after surgery to reduce the risk of infection. For example, some doctors recommend that people scheduled for surgery use a special washing procedure before coming to the hospital.

What does an infected breast incision look like?

If you have greenish, yellowish, or cloudy drainage seeping from the surgical site, your healing incisions might be infected, and you will need to contact your surgeon as soon as possible.

How long does it take for a breast infection to go away?

Management and Treatment The infection should clear up within 10 days but may last as long as three weeks. Mastitis sometimes goes away without medical treatment. To reduce pain and inflammation, you can: Apply warm, moist compresses to the affected breast every few hours or take a warm shower.

How do I know if my tissue expander is leaking?

Signs and Symptoms The rupture of a breast tissue expander may not be all that noticeable at first. You may experience a gradual decrease in your breast size or notice that the shape of your breast has suddenly or gradually changed.

What do breast tissue expanders look or feel like?

Tissue expanders can feel very hard and unnatural because they are thicker and less flexible than implants. Breast skin and nerves are usually numb after a mastectomy, so the pain is caused by the stretching of the muscle. 1 

How to relieve pain from tissue expanders?

– Take Advil – Apply a cold gel pack – Relaxation tapes – Gentle arm stretches and exercises

Is fibroadipose tissue in breast related to cancer?

Simple fibroadenomas do not seem to increase breast cancer risk by much, if at all. Complex fibroadenomas seem to increase the risk slightly more than simple fibroadenomas. Many doctors recommend removing fibroadenomas, especially if they keep growing or change the shape of the breast, to make sure that cancer is not causing the changes.

Are tissue expanders for breast reconstruction painful?

Tissue expanders are temporary, expandable, balloon-like devices used after mastectomy to stretch breast skin and chest wall muscles so that the breast implants can be adequately accommodated. Because of the stretching involved, tissue expanders can be painful.