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Implants raise risk of infection

Last update: January 21, 2008 - 8:55 PM

Breast cancer patients who had reconstructive surgery using implants immediately after mastectomies were twice as likely to acquire infections as women who immediately had breast reconstruction using their own tissue, according to a study published Monday.

The article in Archives of Surgery examined records of breast-surgery patients at a hospital in St. Louis from mid-1999 to mid-2002. It found 50 of 949 patients had an infection within a year of surgery.

Roughly 12 percent of infections occurred in mastectomy patients who had implant surgery, compared with roughly 6 percent of infections in those who had breast reconstruction using their own tissue.

STUDY QUESTIONS LINK BETWEEN WEALTH, WEIGHT

New research discounts a theory on why poor children are more likely to be overweight than children from wealthier families. Iowa State University researchers say a lack of food isn't necessarily to blame, although they're not sure why so many low-income children are overweight. Previous research has suggested poor children weren't getting nutritious food or they may have eaten well when money was available but would skip meals when cash was short, a cycle that could slow their metabolism.

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