Do saline breast implants harbor microbes?

Abstract

Recent anecdotal reports have indicated that a high percentage of saline implants harbor dangerous microbes. These reports have caused considerable alarm and fear to saline implant recipients. Reports in the literature of microbial growth in saline implants are infrequent. The expander implant offers an ideal opportunity to study the internal milieu of saline implants in vivo. The study shows that, if used properly, saline implants do not become infected. In this study, 45 expander implants were studied under clinical conditions. No evidence of microbial contamination of the saline was found.