My hardware vs. airport security ...

[txmarinemom]

Just wanted to let everyone know, the first trip since surgery went well.

I made it through the walk-through scanners at both IAH (Houston) and Boston Logan with no issues at all . Yay!

When wanded, however, it goes off like crazy: I took my daughter to the Houston Police Dept to pick up an accident report a few weeks ago and you should have seen everyone's head whip around at all the noise - LOL ... (they wand everyone coming through the doors).

Regards,
Pam

[Suzy]

I had a security guard wand me at our state fair just to see if it would go off after no alarms at the airport. I was curious. Yup, hand wands do catch our metal yet no airport I have been in has gone off. Darn, I was looking for some excitement at the airport........ From what others have told me hip replacements set off the airport alarms every time.

[dolores a]

Makes you wonder about the security at an airport vs. security at a fair though! LOL (but not really)

[Janet]

I was wanded at JFK 5 months ago, and no problem ( I didn't go thru the regular walk-thru because I was in a wheelchair).

I believe that JFK has, quite understandably, very high security requirements, much more so than other airports I've been thru. So I am surprised that at other venues the wand picks up the metal. I think the security devices can be "tuned" as the security entity sees fit, but to think that JFK's wand didn't go off astonishes me!

[debbei]

Do you ladies have titanium or stainless steel? I wonder if there is a difference as far as detection by those machines. I'm thinking you all have titanium, and I know Dr. N wants to use SS on me.

[sccrm08]

I have SS and never get through Airport security with out setting all the alarms off. However that being said, I just returned home from a cruise last Sunday and had to go through security every time we got on the ship and it never once went off. This did not make me or the other 30 people I was traveling with feel very good about there medal detectors and security. At one port they were wanding people before we got back to the ship and the line was backing up and when I got close to the front, I was waved through with out being wanded. Who knows what they were looking for

[txmarinemom]

Do you ladies have titanium or stainless steel? ...

Neither ... I have Vitallium (a proprietary cobalt/chromium/moly alloy).

Titanium or 316 SS/316L SS (or Vitallium) shoudn't matter, anyway. Anything that conducts electricity *should* break the scan field ...

Regards,
Pam

[laurieg6]

My family and I just returned from a trip to the East Coast. We went through security at SeaTac Airport (Seattle) and at Newark Airport (NJ) and Alexander's hardware never set off any alarms. He just walked right through the scanners like the rest of us. We were very relieved, especially me, because I'm the one who reads about all the potential problems on this forum.

His hardware is stainless steel and he is a skinny, young kid...

[txmarinemom]

His hardware is stainless steel and he is a skinny, young kid...

Yep, I have read that thoracic fusions (of any material type) are more prone to set off scanners simply because the hardware is closer to the surface.

And with smaller-framed people, it's even closer. Laurieg, I too was relieved when they didn't go off ... I arrived a full 3 hours before my 6:30 a.m. departing flight out of Houston, and 2 hours before my 5:30 a.m. return from Boston (just to cover any delays at security).

I should have slept in, but I was SO (unrealistically, in this case) freaked by the prospect of trying to explain things to TSA. As it turns out, I just told them going in I had hardware ... and their response is "If we need to, we can get you through by other measures.".

They were really quite cooperative, and I was pleasantly surprised .

Regards,
Pam

[JoAnn5]

I had no problems last year when i travelled internationally, even with the wanding.

[abhbarry]

I'm glad to see this thread because I had travelled recently and set off the metal detectors at Milwaukee and San Francisco, but not Vegas. Makes you wonder about different levels of security. I showed the security guard in Milwaukee copies of my x-rays and he said, "That won't help you young lady." They then preceeded to wand me and pat me down and the woman said, "You have metal up and down your back." I just laughed at her and said, "Yes, this is what I've been trying to tell you!" Silly people. My surgeon told me i wouldn't set off any alarms, but obviously that is not true. It is generally not a big deal though.

Best,
Anya

[Diane BCSW]

This sounds like a fun thread. Following the original surgery, I've had several flights, all originating out of Dallas, and most all taken during various recuperations. The only time I set off an alarm was in Houston and it wasn't me exactly, but my brace. I was so used to it, I just failed to remember I had it on. They merely called me over, I took off the brace, they wanded and examined it, and then wanded me with no alarms. Most times, I've just told them up front that I have hardware and normally, I walk through the security gate and have no alarms go off. All of these flights have been with Southwest even going to New Hampshire. In late August last summer just prior to the 5th surgery, I flew with my daughter and her family to Seattle for an Alaskan cruise. I didn't set off any alarms at the airport or at the ship. I had bought and taken with me my newly purchased Pink walker. If anyone needs a walker and would like it to be pink with the pink fight-cancer ribbons decaled, go to ebay and do a search. It is a regular brand name walker, but this lady has started a company that takes handicapped devices and jazzes them up. I believe she told me that the manufacturer painted the walkers for her. That walker saved my lunch on the cruise and I feel pretty sure that one of these days, I'll be needing its services again, not for pre-surgery, but just in general.

[skoshi314]

Ok, it sounds like I still might have a shot at the strip search! I'm just kidding, my meds are making me feel a little goofy and thought I'd share the good mood. Right now they are few and far between so this is a treat! (I certainly hope I didnt offend anyone!)

[txmarinemom]

Ok, it sounds like I still might have a shot at the strip search! I'm just kidding, my meds are making me feel a little goofy and thought I'd share the good mood. Right now they are few and far between so this is a treat! (I certainly hope I didnt offend anyone!)

Girl, a shot at a strip search is the closest thing to a date I've got - LMAO!!

[NancyB]

I traveled to Israel last year with no alarms going off. When we went to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, our tour guide asked for anyone with metal in their body to come to the front of the line. I told him that I had never set off an alarm, not even in the Tel Aviv airport, but he said he still wanted to disclose it up front. When I walked through with no alarms, my tour guide laughed and said that I had just made it through one of the tightest security points in the world.