Robert Whitfield MDAmerica's Breast Implant Illness Expert™

Implant Infection: 3 Opportunities for Contamination Explained #shorts

18 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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1:17

In this short explanatory video, Dr. Robert Whitfield outlines the three primary moments when an implant—whether for hip, knee, breast, dental, or cosmetic reconstruction—can become contaminated and lead to infection. First, contamination can occur when the outer and inner sterile packaging are opened. Second, the transfer of the implant to operating‑room staff provides another chance for microbes to be introduced. Third, the surgeon’s handling and insertion of the device can introduce contamination, though surgeons typically employ a "no‑touch" technique to minimize this risk. The video emphasizes that each of these steps presents a low but real opportunity for infection, highlighting the importance of strict aseptic practices throughout the implant workflow.

Chapters

Implant based reconstruction or implant implants used for cosmetic purposes certainly can get infected and we can go through you know, briefly how we think that is really happening. So there's three opportunities for an implant to get infected whether it's a hip, knee, breast, dental, whatever the device is. When you take an implant out of a package there's a it's got two packages basically the outer and the inner. So they'll open it and give it to the staff in the operating room and then the final person to open it and say use a breast implant in this case is the surgeon typically and they perform usually a no touch technique typically with whatever they were taught, whatever they're most comfortable with to limit the opportunity for contamination. So they can contaminate when they open it and contaminate when they give it to the surgeon. Surgeon can contaminate when they put it in or putting the device in. All of those are really low.