By IANS
New York : Thinking of going in for that long-planned facelift? Take a pause and consider the findings of a new study that says a small number of patients undergoing facelifts develop highly resistant infections.
New York University researchers who reviewed the charts of 780 patients who underwent facelifts at an outpatient surgical centre between 2001 and 2007 found that some of them developed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
MRSA is now a leading cause of infections at surgical sites and in skin and soft tissues, said the study.
Being much more virulent than other forms of infection, MRAS spreads through tissue more rapidly, is more difficult to control and causes infections that are associated with higher death rates.
Reporting their findings in the latest issue of the journal Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, researchers Richard A. Zoumalan and David B. Rosenberg wrote that five patients eveloped surgical site infections, and four tested positive for MRSA.
“The high proportion of MRSA infections compared with other pathogens is attributable to a combination of factors,” they wrote.
“With the rise of MRSA colonisation and infections, surgeons performing facelift and other soft tissue procedures may want to consider introducing screening protocols to identify patients who are at increased risk for infection,” the authors wrote.
“During preoperative evaluation, a full medical history should include information on possible prior contacts with persons at high risk for carrying MRSA.”