I just read the article in Bloomberg news that quoted a study showing that patients who had nasal implants have an increased risk of infection. I think that this study, although probably accurate, was looking at different types of implants than the ones that I and my colleagues in Beverly Hills commonly use. They were discussing Medpore implants and described high risk of infection with Medpore implants. There is no question that an implant of any kind in the body has a risk of infection and that includes breast implants, heart valve implants and any other type of hardware that may be needed in the body. However, the risk of infection with a nasal implant in my experience is extremely small.
I have implanted well over 100 nasal implants and have seen one infection with a nasal infection. This was treated with antibiotics and the implant did not need to be removed. This is roughly less than a 1% risk in my experience. The type of implants that I commonly use to add height to the bridge of the nose is a silicone implant wrapped in a thin layer of soft Gore-Tex. This type of implant in this particular location has a very low infection rate. The study in question discusses the use of Medpore implants to build height on the bridge of nose. I have never used a Medpore implant for this use and I never will, and I don’t doubt that there is a high infection rate with Medpore in that location. However, I have used Medpore quite extensively in different locations in the nose where structure and support is needed and the nose and body are devoid of other cartilage sources. Medpore, when used appropriately (not to build up height on the bridge of the nose), also has a very low infection rate. I’ve used Medpore in over 100 patients in these other locations and I’ve also had one person get an infection where I did need to remove the Medpore implant. Again, this is less than a 1% infection risk. Although I will not doubt the veracity of this article, I think that the infection rate for using a nasal implant when used the way that I and many of my colleagues use them, should be much lower than the risks stated in this article.