Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2023; 50(05): 488-491
DOI: 10.1055/a-2088-2829
Pediatric/Craniomaxillofacial/Head & Neck
Case Report

Infective Costochondritis after Augmentation Mammoplasty: A Rare Case Report and Review of the Literature

Sally Min 
1   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
,
Jinil Choi 
1   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
,
Kwon Joong Na 
2   Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
,
Ki Yong Hong 
1   Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Abstract

Silicone breast implant insertion is a commonly performed surgical procedure for breast augmentation or reconstruction. Among various postoperative complications, infection is one of the main causes of patient readmission and may ultimately require explantation. We report a case of infective costochondritis after augmentation mammoplasty, which has rarely been reported and is therefore difficult to diagnose. A 36-year-old female visited the clinic for persistent redness, pain, and purulent discharge around the left anteromedial chest, even after breast implant explantation. Magnetic resonance imaging showed abscess formation encircling the left fourth rib and intracartilaginous and bone marrow signal alteration at the left body of the sternum and left fourth rib. En bloc resection of partial rib and adjacent sternum were done and biopsy results confirmed infective costochondritis. Ten months postoperatively, the patient underwent chest wall reconstruction with an artificial bone graft and acellular dermal matrix. As shown in this case, early and aggressive surgical debridement of the infected costal cartilage and sternum should be performed for infective costochondritis. Furthermore, delayed chest wall reconstruction could significantly contribute to the quality of life.

Keywords

infective costochondritis - augmentation mammoplasty - surgical debridement - chest wall reconstruction - case report

Authors' Contributions

Conceptualization: S.M., J.C., K.J.N., and K.Y.H.

Data curation: S.M. and J.C.

Formal analysis: S.M.

Methodology: J.C.

Project administration: K.Y.H.

Visualization: S.M. and J.C.

Writing - original draft: S.M. and J.C.

Writing - review & editing: S.M. and K.Y.H.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.


Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Seoul National University Hospital (No. H 2209 058 1357) and performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The informed consent was waived because this design is a retrospective study.


Patient Consent

The patient provided written informed consent for the publication and the use of her images.




Publication History

Received: 05 January 2023

Accepted: 15 April 2023

Accepted Manuscript online:
07 May 2023

Article published online:
08 September 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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