ACAAI: Breast Implant Complications, Revision Surgery More Likely in Patients With Eczema

THURSDAY, Nov. 6, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For women undergoing implant-based reconstruction and for patients undergoing bone grafting procedures, atopic diseases are associated with an increased risk for implant complications and revision surgeries, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Nov. 6 to 10 in Orlando, Florida.

Philong Nguyen, from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston,,and colleagues examined the association between atopic skin conditions and implant-related complications among female breast cancer patients who underwent implant-based reconstruction from 2002 to 2022. The analyses included 10,205 patients with and 10,205 without atopic skin conditions after propensity score-matching. The researchers found that compared with patients without atopic or allergic skin conditions, those with atopic conditions had significantly elevated risks for implant complications, capsular contracture at two and three years, and revision surgeries at all time points (risk ratios, 1.2, 1.2, and 1.1, respectively).

Joshua Wang, from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the impact of atopic diseases on bone grafting complications. After propensity score matching, the cohort included 19,334 patients with and 19,334 without atopic disease. The researchers found that patients with atopic diseases had higher risks for infection or wound complications, osteomyelitis, and hardware removal at 90 days (hazard ratios, 1.19, 1.29, and 1.22, respectively). The atopic cohort remained at elevated risk for infection or wound complications, osteomyelitis, hardware removal, mechanical loosening, and revision surgery at two years (hazard ratios, 1.20, 1.20, 1.21, 1.35, and 1.16, respectively).

“These results suggest that allergic conditions can affect the body”s ability to heal after surgery — not just in the skin, but in the bones as well,” Wang said in a statement.

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