Late infection of a breast prosthesis with staphylococcus aureus in a healthy woman: a case report

Infection following breast augmentation is a rare event with an incidence rate of 1–2.5%. Late onset infections following breast augmentation are very rare. Herein, we present a case of breast implant infection in a 29-year-old female patient who underwent a bilateral augmentation mammoplasty with a silicone gel prosthesis. After 8 uneventful post-operative years, she presented with right-sided signs of breast infection. She initially treated medically but without improvement. Then, she underwent surgical washout and debridement with removal of the bilateral breast implants. Culture demonstrated Staphylococcus aureus. The clinical history and management of this unusual case are described. Because most of the infections occurs in the first few weeks after augmentation mammoplasty, there is a paucity of data about late onset infections. The most common cultured organism in the early infection is S. aureus.