STUDY: Bacterial colonization is of major relevance for high-grade capsular contracture after augmentation mammaplasty.

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Ann Plast Surg. 2007 Aug;59(2):126-30.Links
Bacterial colonization is of major relevance for high-grade
capsular contracture after augmentation mammaplasty.
Schreml S, Heine N, Eisenmann-Klein M, Prantl L.

Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Regensburg,
Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.

Many studies indicate that subclinical bacterial colonization
plays a pivotal role in capsular contracture. Nevertheless, it has not
been clarified whether bacterial stimuli are only associated with
high-grade (Baker III/IV) or low-grade (Baker I/II) capsular
contractures. The study included 45 female patients suffering from
unilateral capsular fibrosis following augmentation mammaplasty with
silicone implants (smooth: n = 28; textured: n = 17). In total, there
were 16 (35.6%) bacterially contaminated swabs. No significant
difference could be detected between colonization rates of smooth
(52.9%) and textured (25.0%) implants (z = 1.575, P = 0.115).
Interestingly, no colonization was detected for Baker I/II
contractures, but the colonization rate for Baker III/IV contractures
amounted to 66.7%, showing a highly significant difference between the
2 groups (z = 4.351, P < 0.001). Our study shows significant
differences in bacterial contamination rates between high-grade and
low-grade capsular contractures. One might speculate that bacterial
stimuli accelerate the process of inflammation and fibrosis in
patients who tend to develop capsular fibrosis.

PMID: 17667403 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]