title: Fungal colonization within a tissue expander: a case report.
abstract: Fungal contamination derived from prosthetic substances is not common, although because of the following reasons the number of cases has increased in the recent years: increased life expectancy, and therefore a greater number of surgical candidates; higher rates of underlying diseases, which are accompanied by immunosuppressive disorders that can cause a higher susceptibility for such infections. Most reports of infection in breast prosthesis and tissue expanders are bacterial infections, and fungi cases are still rare. Hereby, we report a case of Aspergillus colonization in a tissue expander of a patient with an old burn scar. This fungal growth inside saline-filled tissue expander was asymptomatic and not troublesome. It also caused no changes in the patient's treatment course.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. shariatim@mums.ac.ir
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motamedoshariati
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications*; D017439:Cicatrix, Hypertrophic / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015626:Tissue Expansion / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015625:Tissue Expansion Devices / Q000382:microbiology*