Summary
Impaired lymph drainage is an inevitable consequence of any form of surgery that disrupts
lymphatics, resulting in a degree of lymphoedema that may vary from subtle to dramatic
and although classically involving an entire limb, may be more localised, confined
to only a small area such as a skin flap. Infection is a well-recognised complication
of lymphoedema. However, not all inflammatory episodes occurring in the setting of
lymphatic dysfunction can be clearly attributed to infection as this article demonstrates.
Five patients presented over a 5-year period with distinctive erysipelas-like inflammation
affecting the breast which occurred several weeks following reduction mammaplasty
in four patients and breast reconstruction in one patient. No clinical response was
obtained with standard antibiotics. This inflammatory problem may represent a previously
unreported complication of breast surgery with an incidence of 4% following reduction
mammaplasty. Recent research supports the notion that this type of episode is most
likely to be due to a non-infective inflammatory process related to lymphatic dysfunction
induced by surgery.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 10, 2006
Accepted:
April 29,
2006
Received:
July 19,
2005
Footnotes
☆This paper was presented as a poster during Research Week (4–8 July 2005) at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
