Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Bacterial Load Contamination in Breast Implant Surfaces and Capsular Tissue

Breast augmentation is the most common cosmetic surgery performed in the United States. The role of bacterial contamination on breast implant surfaces has been associated with device-associated infection including the capsular contracture and breast implant-associated anaplastic lymphoma (BIAALCL). Critically, it is not well understood what the relative degree of total bacterial load that exist between an implant and it’s capsular tissue. The purposes of this investigation are:

1. To quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the bacterial contamination between the breast implant and its respective capsular tissue;

2. Determine whether the implant or the capsular tissue has the greatest capacity for maintaining a bacterial load of the breast pocket;

3. Qualitatively and qualitatively analyze the effectiveness of povidone iodine-triple antibiotic irrigation in decreasing the bacterial load of capsular tissue.

We hypothesize that the bacterial contamination on the breast implant will be significantly higher than in the capsular tissue, and that povidone iodine antibiotic irrigation will significantly decrease the bacterial load in the capsule. Clinically, these data are essential when treating a variety of breast implant cases, particularly common patients currently seen who are asymptomatic and wanting to exchange textured implants or want to have their capsules removed for a variety of reasons.