Study on Breast Reduction Reveals Age Affects Recovery Outcomes

An interesting study appeared from the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland concerning whether age affects breast reduction outcome.  17 plastic surgeons were involved in the study which included patients with an average age of 36 years. Age groups were divided into those younger than 40, 40-50 years of age, and those older than 50. The researchers found that the women in the group older than 50 were more likely to experience infection, "with trends towards wound healing problems".  The women in the 40-50 age group also showed a trend toward infection, although not as significant.  A point of interest was that the more aged group did not suffer from any greater degree of more severe complications such as fat necrosis or development of seroma.  The conclusion was that women older than 50 were more likely to develop infection than younger women, and that hormonal deficiency may account for this in part.

What can we learn from a study like this? It could be argued that it is pretty common sense that the older group would experience a higher number of infections. While this may be true, it was interesting that the type of complications were not more severe than those experienced by the younger age groups, and that hormonal deficiency could possibly account for the higher rate in the more aged group. If so, preparation prior to surgery may possibly help beat the odds.

Dr. Young urges all of his patients to take pre-operative surgical vitamins which are designed to boost your immune system and help prepare your body for surgery and the recovery period following.  These are not over-the-counter vitamins, which must be discontinued at least two weeks prior to surgery as some contain ingredients which can impair healing or cause bleeding or other problems.  The surgery vitamins are available to all of our patients, and are taken two weeks before and two weeks following your surgery.  It is important, no matter what your age or health condition, to take all antibiotics and/or other medications prescribed to you prior to and following your surgery as directed.  Followup visits with your surgeon are very important. Anyone experiencing a symptom of infection should call their surgeon's office as early on as possible.

Heed Your Surgeon's Advice on Exercise

A bizarre article caught my eye this morning about a woman whose breast implant disappeared (the article actually described it as "her body 'swallowed' one of her implants") while she performed a Pilates stretching exercise.  Thinking that this sounded a little strange, I read the article, which appeared on the site TheBodyOdd on msnbc.com a couple of days ago, and was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Apparently, the woman had several surgeries performed in the past. She was a breast cancer survivor and had a double mastectomy.  She also had a recent surgery to repair her heart's mitral valve, which involved separating some of the muscles that run between the ribs.  It is thought that when the woman attempted the Pilates move, called the Valsalva maneuver, the muscles in her chest contracted and may have pushed the implant through her ribs and into the space between the lungs.  It is felt that this area was fragile after her multiple surgeries, and that tissue was more easily torn.  It has been described as a "freak occurrence".  To view the article: http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9444713-womans-breast-implant-disappears-during-pilates.

The good news is that the woman is fine.  Surgeons found the implant and placed it back where it belongs.
But what does all this mean for the the typical women who is considering or already has breast implants? 

First, realize that when stories like this appear, they truly are rare and unusual occurrences. Second, while the article does not mention how long ago the woman had her breast implant surgery, it is a reminder to listen to and FOLLOW the advice you receive from your surgeon. Some complications can be avoided by following this advice. Your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon will give you a time frame in which you are to avoid all exercise, then tell you how soon you can return to moderate exercise, and when you can return to your regular full workouts. The same can apply for your recovery time and when it is safe to return to work, lifting, housecleaning, and even sex. It is easy to return too early because you feel so good, but complications CAN occur if you push the limits too early, or if you "overdo" it.  If there is any doubt, please call your surgeon and ask.