Medical Device Infections

Shayan A. Izaddoost, MD, PhD

The advent of new medical technologies has increasingly resulted in their use to improve patient's quality of life and health. Of these, implantable devices have made a tremendous impact in replacing tissues lost to cancer/trauma or worn out by repetitive use.

While implanted devices function well in the majority of instances, at times they can have failure due to infection, extrusion, or mechanical failure. This may require the workup, implant replacement, or possibly removal. Often, these problems necessitate coverage with local tissue and/or flap. When infections involve breast implants or cosmetics facial implants, plastic surgeons are involved in all steps in treatment from diagnosis to recovery. In infections or extrusions of devices placed by colleagues in other specialties, plastic surgeons are integral in achieving healthy coverage of the wound and helping the patients return to normal life.

This issue of Seminars in Plastic Surgery reviews the current science behind medical device infections and the treatment of the most common types of device infections faced by plastic surgeons. We hope that this knowledge will allow for the most up-to-date treatment for our patients and help them achieve the optimum results for our patients.