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Non-enzymatic, Serum-free Tissue Culture of Pre-invasive Breast Lesions for Spontaneous Generation of Mammospheres
Published on: November 8, 2014
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Microbiology of breast tissue expanders.
Maja Molska1, Mateusz Wichtowski1, Dawid Murawa1,2
1Clinic of Surgical Oncology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
Contemporary Oncology (Poznan, Poland)
|January 26, 2022
Summary
Bacterial colonization is common in breast reconstruction expanders, regardless of infection. Intraoperative swabs do not reliably predict outcomes, suggesting standard swabbing is not crucial for successful treatment.
Area of Science:
- Plastic Surgery
- Microbiology
- Oncology
Background:
- Infection is a frequent complication in breast reconstruction.
- Bacterial biofilm on implants may not present clinically as infection.
- Factors triggering the transition from normal to pathological states are poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify microorganisms associated with tissue expanders in breast reconstruction.
- To determine if intraoperative bacteriological swabs predict outcomes.
- To investigate factors influencing the transition from asymptomatic colonization to infection.
Main Methods:
- A 2-center review of 56 patients undergoing immediate 2-stage expander-implant breast reconstruction (June 2020-Sept 2021).
- 68 expander-to-implant replacements were analyzed.
- Bacteriological swabs were taken from expander compartments, followed by microbiological culture.
Main Results:
- Tissue expanders were in place for 2-26 months.
- Seven patients required emergency expander removal due to infection or device damage.
- Out of 56 patients, 47 had negative cultures and 9 had positive cultures; results did not strongly correlate with clinical status.
Conclusions:
- Bacteria colonize both clinically normal and infected expanders.
- Identifying specific flora in the post-expander pocket is challenging.
- Routine intraoperative bacteriological swabs do not significantly impact treatment success in expander-based breast reconstruction.
