Background: The management of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) has been well established. However, there is minimal data and significant variability in the management of asymptomatic textured implant (ATI) patients.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to survey members of The Aesthetic Society on management of ATI patients in order to understand trends in practice patterns.
Methods: Members of The Aesthetic Society were queried via an electronic survey regarding management of ATI patients. Anonymous responses were collected by QualtricsXM (SAP, Walldorf, Germany) survey software. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the data, reported as frequencies. All analyses were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics 26.
Results: The survey was sent to 2149 active and candidate members of The Aesthetic Society with a total of 470 responses (21.87% response rate). For ATI patients presenting with concerns regarding BIA-ALCL risk, 88.8% of respondents educate the patient with clinical follow-up and/or imaging. The other 11.2% of surgeons recommend implant removal with variability in capsulectomy technique. For ATI patients requesting surgery, 42.5% of respondents educate the patient with clinical follow-up and/or imaging. The majority of surgeons (57.6%) recommend removal of the implant, with 30% recommending total capsulectomies.
Conclusions: There is considerable variability in how members of The Aesthetic Society manage ATI patients who request surgery. Future regulatory agency and professional society collaborative efforts should continue to aim for generation of high-level scientific data to aid in the counseling and management of ATI patients.
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