Robert Whitfield MDAmerica's Breast Implant Illness Expert™

Understanding Inflammation: What Happens After Surgery?

22 Apr 2025 · 2 min

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1:36

A short conversational video (recorded April 22, 2025) in which Robert Whitfield MD explains inflammation after surgery at a basic level. He contrasts acute inflammation (helpful for repair) with chronic inflammation (persistent when a stimulus remains), lists inflammatory cell types (B and T lymphocytes, monocytes, mast cells, endothelial cells), and gives a clinical example: among ~1,500 breast implant explants he has performed, roughly 35% showed bacterial biofilm (identified by DNA testing), commonly Cutibacterium acnes, which can provoke ongoing inflammation.

Questions this video answers

April 22, 2025.

About 1,500 explants.

About 35%.

Cutibacterium acnes (referred to in transcript as cutie and bacterium acnes).

Chapters

Can you explain exactly, like, from a very kindergarten level of why I was experiencing that inflammation? Like what? Like really get in there. Besides the four pathways, what was actually happening?
So acutely after surgery, there's acute inflammation, or if you sprained your anchor and your ankle swelled up, that's acute inflammation. And your body has inflammatory cells. Inflammatory cells can be our B lymphocytes, our T lymphocytes, our monocytes, mast cells. People have heard of mast cells or endothelial cells. These all secrete a product, if you will, that stimulates inflammation. And you want acute inflammation in certain instances, Correct? Right. Because it's going to drive repair and healing. But when that acute process is over, if you still have the stimulus for inflammation now, you are going to develop chronic inflammation because your body's going to keep sending the inflammatory cells out to get rid of the problem. And so in the case of a breast implant, wherein I've done about 1,500 explants at this point, about 35% have biofilm. So that's. Biofilm's produced by bacteria. So it's a contaminant biofilm around the implant when you take it out. Right. So the biofilm is found by DNA testing, but the bacteria is called cutie and bacterium acnes. And this bacteria produces almost like a little slime layer to protect itself from your immune system. Even though your immune system can't get rid of it, it's still stimulated to react to it and respond to it. So once again, you create more and more inflammation in a constant manner.