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CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2021; 48(02): 189-193
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2020.01144
Breast/Trunk
Case Report

Diagnosis and management of toxic shock syndrome after breast reconstructive procedures with silicone implants

Minseo Kim 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
,
Inhoe Ku 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
,
Ung Sik Jin 
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
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Breast implant insertion is one of the most commonly used methods for breast reconstruction after total mastectomy. However, infection is a common postoperative complication of implant insertion. In most cases, these infections can be managed with antibiotics and supportive therapy. However, severe septic conditions, such as toxic shock syndrome (TSS), can sometimes occur. TSS is an extremely rare but life-threatening complication, for which early diagnosis and proper management play a crucial role in determining patients’ outcome. Although only 16 cases of TSS after breast implant insertion have been reported in the literature, most of those cases involved a serious clinical course. The reason for the seriousness of the clinical course of TSS in these cases is that the initial impression and presentation of these patients are nonspecific, and patients can easily be misdiagnosed as having a simple upper respiratory infection, causing the underlying condition to be neglected. Herein, we present two patients who were diagnosed with TSS after receiving breast reconstruction surgery via a silicone implant after total mastectomy. Both patients were misdiagnosed at the initial examination since they showed no local infectious signs on the postoperative wound.

Keywords

Breast - Reconstructive surgery - Implant - Toxic shock syndrome


Publication History

Received: 23 June 2020

Accepted: 11 November 2020

Article published online:
07 March 2022

© 2021. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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