I've had previous surgery on my broken ankle and arm and both have a lot of metal hardware in there. Now I am having back trouble and probably need an MRI, but I don't know if I can have one with all that metal in there. Anyone know the limitations of that?
2007-02-23 07:25:09 · 6 answers · asked by mldohm 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
You cannot have an MRI if you have certain metal "hardware" as you call it. You will probably need to have a CT. There are certain types of surgically implantable metals that will not be effected by the MRI but you don't specify which type you have had implanted. You also didn't specify wether the back problem is disk related or vertebral (bones of the spine) but you sound as if you would not be a candidate for a PET scan as this test is used to view blood rich organs and tissue such as the heart and abdominal or thoracic (chest contained) organs and is used to diagnose cancers or disease. A PET scan uses a radioactive substance which goes through the circulatory system. It would not be viewable in bone tissue as bones are not blood engorged although after a long period of time I would expect that some of the radioactive material would present or deposit itself in some regard but it would be in limited amounts. If one was assessing your spinal musculature then it may be an option but probably not the best.
So no, I doubt you can have an MRI although I am sure they probably utilized this testing format prior to your ankle and arm reconstructive surgery. Your orthopedic surgeon or their nurse can advise you best in regards to this.
Sorry to hear about your back problems.
2007-02-23 07:44:49 · answer #1 · answered by Julia Warhol 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The best bet is to call the MRI place directly and they'll determine the 'type of hardware' you have is safe for the machine
If you're other implants were recent, its likely they were made out of titanium which is safe for an mri machine. Its only certain types of metal that cannot be in the machine.
Its also not true (conbtrary to what movies say...) that the metal will be ripped out of your body. Although the magnetic force is very powerful, its more likely that you'd get a burn or heating sensation than have the metal come flying out of your body.
As others have said, you can also have other types of scans done to your body, your best bet is probably a PET or CAT scan, not an xray bc the muscles are likely not to show up quites as well.
2007-02-23 07:36:31 · answer #2 · answered by SharkPrincess 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it's been in there less than 6 months, you can't. The MRI machine will pull the hardware out, either all the way, or at least enough to cause structural damage.
You can have a CAT or PET scan, and X-rays.
If it's been in you more than 6 months, you should be OK.
Read more:
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodymr&bhcp=1
2007-02-23 07:28:25 · answer #3 · answered by Brian L 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Usually yes.
An MRI is now done in an open-ended machine. This allows the radiologist to isolate only the parts they want to scan.
I would call any radiology clinic and ask to be sure because you state that you have "a lot" of metal. Even though part of you can be isolated for the scan, other parts of your body that contain metal can still interfere.
2007-02-23 07:35:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. It has been 10 yrssince my surgery and I still can't get an MRI done.
2007-02-23 07:33:45 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How about instead you tell someone you don't want to try out? It will be a lot less painful. I can't imagine your parents will be too disappointed that you didn't try out for a silly game like volleyball.
2016-03-29 09:00:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋