Toxic shock syndrome in plastic surgery patients: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a rapidly developing disease, which may be lethal if not recognized and treated early. TSS unrelated to menstruation comprises an increasing proportion of the cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control during recent years, and a review of the literature reveals that TSS has is reported with increasing frequency in plastic surgical patients as well. The majority of reports relates to aesthetic plastic surgical procedures such as rhinoplasty, augmentation mammaplasty liposuction, and chemical peeling, but cases of TSS following reconstructive breast surgery with musculocutaneous flaps have also been reported. A common denominator seems to be that TSS occurs unexpectedly in healthy patients. Nonmenstrual TSS is apparently associated with a higher mortality rate than TSS associated with menstruation. We report on a case of TSS after exchange of silicone implants and resection of a siliconoma in a 59-year-old woman. Details of the case and a review of the literature are presented.