Antibacterial effects of the povidone-iodine vacuum impregnation technique in expanded polytetrafluoroethylene augmentation rhinoplasty.

Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) is a popular graft material for augmentation rhinoplasty. Gore-Tex and Surgiform are two types of e-PTFE; Surgiform has thicker fibrils and is more compact than Gore-Tex. We conducted an ex vivo study to evaluate the ability of povidone-iodine (PVP-I) vacuum pretreatment to prevent infection with these two types of e-PTFE. Gore-Tex and Surgiform specimens were cut into 2-mm(3) pieces, which were separated into two groups. One group for each e-PTFE was disinfected with vacuum PVP-I impregnation and the other group was not disinfected. Using the pieces of implant material, swabs were obtained from the nasal cavities of 20 healthy adults, and the specimens were incubated on agar plates and viewed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We found that PVP-I treatment significantly reduced the bacterial colony counts in both the Gore-Tex and Surgiform groups. In the SEM images, bacterial colonies were observed both inside and outside the untreated Gore-Tex; on the untreated Surgiform, they were found primarily on the surface. Few bacteria were detected in the PVP-I-treated Gore-Tex and Surgiform groups. Our findings suggest that PVP-I pretreatment can reduce the risk of infection associated with e-PTFE.