Robert Whitfield MDAmerica's Breast Implant Illness Expert™

Pathology Results Saved My Life: Bacterial Infections Revealed! #shorts

26 Dec 2025 · 0 min

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0:21

Short YouTube conversation between patient Erica and Robert Whitfield MD about pathology/PCR testing for implant infections. Whitfield states his practice switched from traditional swab culture to PCR testing in February 2019; their PCR panel tests for ~150 bacteria plus fungi (mold) and mycobacteria. Erica reports one implant returned positive for four bacterial infections. The clip emphasizes that PCR pathology testing can detect multiple infections on implants and may be life-saving.

Questions this video answers

February 2019.

Approximately 150 different bacteria, plus fungi (mold) and mycobacteria.

Four bacterial infections.

Looking back, I thinking about one of the stories I shared, and when I got those results from you, all from the pathology, which I think is just so important. And I love that you do that. I don't know if you recall that my implant, one of them came back with four bacterial infections on it.
Yeah. So we've been doing that PCR testing since 2019. So that's what Erica's talking about. When you do a traditional test, you do like a Q tip, swab and send it off, and then the lab will tell you what's there. We transitioned out of that in February of 2019 to a PCR test. PCR test looks for the different DNA fragments, and we test for 150 different bacteria, fungi, which is mold and mycobacteria. And she had that on her implants.
I just think, what if I would have waited longer? Like, God knows.