Study outlines risk of treatment-resistant infection following facelift surgery

Of the four patients with MRSA-positive infections, two were admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotic therapy. Both had potential exposure to MRSA before surgery. One had spent time with her spouse in the cardiac intensive care unit four months prior and the other had frequent contact with her brother-in-law, a cardiologist.

“With the rise of MRSA colonization and infections, facial plastic surgeons performing rhytidectomy [facelift] and other soft tissue procedures may want to consider introducing screening protocols to identify patients who are at increased risk for infection,” the authors write. “During preoperative evaluation, a full medical history should include information on possible prior contacts with persons at high risk for carrying MRSA.” Other significant risk factors include recently having taken antibiotics or having been hospitalized, contact with health care workers, previous MRSA infections, older age, diabetes, smoking and obesity.

“Because the medical, psychological and cosmetic sequelae of wound infections can be devastating, every appropriate step should be used to prevent wound infections in facial plastic surgery,” the authors write. This includes proper hand-washing between patients and preventive courses of antibiotics.

(Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2008;10[2]:116-123. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)

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