It may not be a lead foot, but a metal ankle replacement could attract the attention of authorities, a local doctor found.
Foot and ankle implants can set off the improved metal detectors produced since Sept. 11, 2001, said Dr. Clifford Jeng, of Baltimore?s Mercy Medical Center.
Jeng and his colleagues from the military and nationwide tested various foot and ankle hardware on both gate- and wand-style metal detectors.
Their findings were published in a recent edition of Foot & Ankle International, the official journal of the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society.
His team concealed the equipment in steak and passed it through detectors in the Baltimore City District Court building.
“Initially, we were going to use a gate at Baltimore-Washington International [Thurgood Marshall Airport], but the Transportation Security Administration felt otherwise,” Jeng said.
A common question asked by patients contemplating foot or ankle surgery is whether their surgical implants will set off security screening devices in airports, Jeng said.
“I?ve never really had any patients with foot and ankle implants say they set off airport detectors,” Jeng said. “The amount of metal we use in foot and ankle is not really as much as in hip or knee replacement.”
Still, larger devices ? like a full ankle replacement with its 8- to 10-inch rods in the leg bones ? could set off a gate detector, according to the article.
The more sensitive hand-held wands ping even screws and smaller rods and plates used in foot reconstruction.
His own mother, with two artificial knees, told Jeng she has set off airport detectors. But her doctor provided her a card identifying the type and location of her implants.
Jeng advised travelers with artificial joints to notify airport screeners before they go through a gate so no surprises occur.
