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  1. #1
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    Pins, rods, screws and metal detectors

    So now that I have a rod and 3 screws in my femur, am I going to set off metal detectors at airports? I mean theoretically this shit is going to be my leg for the rest of my life so if this is going to affect me I'd love to know how to address this.

    Will the hardware set off metal detectors in airports?

    Anybody have any good stories about this subject?

    Can my doctor give me a card or something to carry in my wallet that certifies that I have metal in my leg and am part cyborg?

    If the doctor will give me a card, does it come with multipe translations for when I travel to other countries that speak languages that I don't know?

    Of course I may get the hardware out entirely when the time comes but that won't be for a while.
    thats new hampshire as fuck


    We ain't eager to be legal, so please leave me with the keys to your Jeep Eagle.

  2. #2
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    i've got a rod/screws in my lower leg. whenever i travel, i just take off my pants and put them in the tray with my jacket. yea, i get some funny looks but never have an issue with security.

  3. #3
    I've got a steel plate and 5 screws in my knee. I've been through 3 or 4 metal detectors and haven't set any off yet. Haven't been in a courthouse in a while, but I'll be in one tomorrow so we'll see how the big daddy metal detector handles it. I'm guessing no problems. The 8 inch scar up the front of my knee makes it pretty obvious anyway.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by SponsoredByDuctTape View Post
    I'll be in one tomorrow so we'll see how the big daddy metal detector handles it. I'm guessing no problems. The 8 inch scar up the front of my knee makes it pretty obvious anyway.
    eh buddeh!

    be sure to report back about the court house metal detector.

    I hadn't thought of the scar before you mentioned it. I have a sweeet 6 inch scar on my hip-area from the surgery, I'm sure that will go a long way towards convincing TSA that my cyborg claims are real.
    thats new hampshire as fuck


    We ain't eager to be legal, so please leave me with the keys to your Jeep Eagle.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    i set off airport metal detectors(i have a LOT of metal in my back)

    Dont need a doctors card, i just show them my scar and get hand wanded. Get to the airport 10 minutes earlier then you usually would just to be safe.

  6. #6
    I set off the metal detector at the courthouse. All the sheriff had me do was pull up my pant legs so he could make sure I wasn't strapped. The professional attire probably helped. No big deal, but I can see this becoming a recurring issue in the future.

  7. #7
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    I've flown around alot for work and have only set off the metal detector once -- I'm sure it was just set to be VERY sensitive. Like everybody mentioned... a couple minutes with the wand and you're off on your flight.

  8. #8
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    innnnnnnteresting.

    well, I guess I'll have to wait to find out if I set any of the detectors off. good call on the extra few minutes to clear security!

    thats new hampshire as fuck


    We ain't eager to be legal, so please leave me with the keys to your Jeep Eagle.

  9. #9
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    Jan 2008
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    I have so much metal in various places that I have 2 doctor cards. I set off everything, even some store anti theft panels. I recently stopped to chat with some TSA monkeys in the SLC airport and they said the doctor cards don't do squat because if you set off the detectors they still have protocols they have to follow. What the card does do is allow everybody to relax a little bit. They must also know or recognize something in my appearance as I travel so I can walk through the detectors in nothing but shorts and a tee shirt and before they see a card they often ask knee or hips and I've got parts in three out of four.

  10. #10
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    If its all titanium it will not set it off. If they wand you it may detect it.
    Quote Originally Posted by splat View Post
    We don't make those skis specifically for Andy, but we make them specifically for kick-ass skiers like Andy who use them in freeride comps and the everyday comp where they compete against themselves.

  11. #11
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    Oct 2004
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    ^^^True. I've a titanium plate holding some vertebrae together. Haven't had it set off airport metal detectors since the surgery, but it did set off the detector at Dept of Energy HQ once - that was fun (not!)

  12. #12
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    Went through the metal detector at SF City Hall the other day. No issues. I have a ti rod, and five screws in my left tib/ankle.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ernest_Hemingway View Post
    I realize there is not much hope for a bullfighting forum. I understand that most of you would prefer to discuss the ingredients of jacket fabrics than the ingredients of a brave man. I know nothing of the former. But the latter is made of courage, and skill, and grace in the presence of the possibility of death. If someone could make a jacket of those three things it would no doubt be the most popular and prized item in all of your closets.

  13. #13
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    I've got 2 plates and 12 screws in my forearm from a bad radius/ulna fracture 9 yrs ago. I wondered the same thing after my injury. It doesn't set off the walk-through detector but if they pass the hand-held wand over my arm very close to the site it sets that off. I just show them the scars and its no big deal-I'm sure it probably happens a lot.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    9 screws one plate in my forearm. 3 screws and plates in my shoulder. This past March in SLC I set off a wand. the Walkthroughs don't detect it.

  15. #15
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    I've got 27 (little) screws holding my face together, and never set anything off. Hope I don't either, don't really have any scars to match.

  16. #16
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    Make sure you don't ever get an MRI or you will die in a very messy way.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spats View Post
    Make sure you don't ever get an MRI or you will die in a very messy way.
    haha!

    Hadn't thought of that either! I bet that would be somewhat painful having the rod ripped out of my leg.
    thats new hampshire as fuck


    We ain't eager to be legal, so please leave me with the keys to your Jeep Eagle.

  18. #18
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    Dec 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spats View Post
    Make sure you don't ever get an MRI or you will die in a very messy way.
    haha. I had an MRI with all my metal in (titanium in my femur & knee and stainless steel in my ankle). It wasn't long after the metal was put in. My doc was worried that I had some necrosis in my ankle, so he needed to see an MRI before I started weight-bearing. He had to go through some special authorization process because the MRI techs typically don't do scans on patients who'd so recently had metal implanted. It was fine because those metals aren't highly magnetic. During the scan I did feel a strange, buzzing sensation where the plate in my ankle was, but that was about it.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spats View Post
    Make sure you don't ever get an MRI or you will die in a very messy way.
    Scene from a bad horror movie (Saw?) or House episode = Yes.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by amyzilla View Post
    It was fine because those metals aren't highly magnetic. During the scan I did feel a strange, buzzing sensation where the plate in my ankle was, but that was about it.
    Wow. I know that surgical-grade stainless *ought* not to be magnetic, but the magnetic fields are so strong (1 Tesla and up...the biggest MRIs are up to 3 Tesla now...and a Tesla is huge. It's like referring to distance in light-years) that I didn't think they took the chance.

    Apparently I was wrong and I've learned something new.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spats View Post
    Make sure you don't ever get an MRI or you will die in a very messy way.
    I was kinda concerned about my most recent MRI of my knee due to screws, but they seem to do something that negates them from flying out and sticking to the magnet.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spats View Post
    Wow. I know that surgical-grade stainless *ought* not to be magnetic, but the magnetic fields are so strong (1 Tesla and up...the biggest MRIs are up to 3 Tesla now...and a Tesla is huge. It's like referring to distance in light-years) that I didn't think they took the chance.

    Apparently I was wrong and I've learned something new.
    I think hardware is okay, but usually they don't do MRIs until the metal has been in for at least like six months. In any case, I'm glad my leg didn't get torn apart in the MRI scanner

  23. #23
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    Oct 2006
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    13 screws, and a metal plate in the arm here, and never had any problems with it. All Titanium though, however, I was under the impression most all surgical implants that are metal are titanium now, as it is very unreactive. Correct me if I am wrong.

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