Summary: Acellular dermal matrices have become a mandatory tool in reconstructive breast surgery. Since their introduction, they have been considered to be nonreactive and nonimmunogenic scaffolds. However, some patients who undergo implant-based breast reconstruction with acellular dermal matrices develop postoperative cutaneous erythema overlying their matrices, a condition commonly referred to as red breast syndrome. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon. An analysis was conducted on consecutive patients who underwent acellular dermal matrix– and implant-based breast reconstructions and developed red breast syndrome that was treated surgically between April of 2017 and June of 2018 at the authors’ institution. During surgery, 1-cm2 specimens of acellular dermal matrix were sampled and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Observations were charted to score and record the presence and thickness of biofilm, and for identification of bacteria. These measurements were performed using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended software. Six postmastectomy breast reconstruction patients were included, all with AlloDerm Ready-to-Use–based reconstructions. All specimens were colonized by various bacteria ranging from Gram-negative bacilli to Gram-positive microorganisms. Biofilm was present in all studied specimens. The cause of skin erythema overlying acellular dermal matrix grafts, and the so-called red breast syndrome, may be related to contamination with various bacteria. Although contamination was omnipresent in analyzed samples, its clinical significance is variable. Even if acellular dermal matrix–based reconstructions are salvaged, this could come at the price of chronic local inflammation.

Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive hemoglobinopathy caused by an amino acid substitution from glutamic acid to valine in the beta hemoglobin chain. One of the common symptoms occurring in sickle cell patients are leg ulcers, which are notoriously painful, difficult to treat, and frequently recurrent. These ulcers pose a therapeutic challenge with multiple modalities proposed for treatment, but with scarce evidence of efficacy of any single modality. Ulcer prevention, rigorous wound care, pain control, and surgery are the current mainstays of sickle cell leg ulcer treatment.