MRIs - How Many of You Have Had Them Post Surgery

[nyc lady]

There is an extremely heated post regarding MRIs and surgical clips.  Just out of curiousity, how many of you have had post surgery MRIs with out any problems and what kind of questions are you asked by the radiologist prior to the test.

I have had about 3 post surgery.  The office that I go to gives me a form to fill out that asks for detailed medical information, about surgeries, etc.  I have had no problems.

[mirade]

I replied to the nonsense written above by Jan & Cirella but it was removed for some reason. REgarding where i come from: To all those who do not understand what the letters UK stands for, they simply mean UNITED KINGDOM. Mirade

[LynnBeth]

I myself work in a MRI department.  We do ask questions about your medical health.  The reason we do this is too make sure YOU can do an MRI and to let us know  what kind of sequencs that we can run safetly.  WE do not do MRI's on ANYONE that has had surgery less then 6 weeks.  We want to make you comfortable and happy while you are with us and we do not want to cause you any pain.  You may need to search for the MRI staff that does their homework on ALL patients not just a few.   Also you may even find that some of the staff have even gone through what you are and are able to answer your questions.

Lynn

[cirella]

Thank you, Jan.  

Mirade, this subject isn't taboo.  As I said before, people have answered you, which is more than you got from other forums in which you've posted, and now the subject is exhausted.  I hope you can redirect your frustrations into getting help for yourself.

You are on other Internet forums posting the same thing.  Even directing them to MedHelp.  Why is that?

Oct 9
If you want a real horror story regarding metal surgical clips then read my story on medhelp "What are surgical clips and can they cause pain" I am still waiting for any doctor to remove the 30 metal clips that were left in my lower abdomen "Without my knowledge" and caused a cathostrophic injury on the first occassion that i attempted intercourse post hysterectomy.

Oct 12
If you take on board my horrific story then you will all realise that doctors will not remove offending clips and alleviate my swollen leg problem because they know that my reaction would be "Why the hell did you not do it in 1990 when they gave way and caused my injury, and spare me 18 years of pain and misery and 15 unecessary hospitalisations?. Their worst nightmare is that my leg will return to normal and that i may sue them and so i am convinced that they will never do the honourable thing because it is not in the interests of surgical proceedures and the suppliers of these clips. Please read my story on Medhelp "What are surgical clips and can they cause pain" Mirade

http://www.topix.com/forum/nursing/T7022J42SEOQGCM1G/p2

[Jan214]

I have about had it with this nonsense.  First off, I have metal screws and bands in my right ankle that was shattered in a car accident and I have had 4 MRI's since then.  

Second, Mirade we have asked you REPEATEDLY to tell us where you are from and to tell us a little more about yourself, but you REFUSE to do that.  We don't know if you are here in the states or some third world country that uses inferior products.  We don't know your age or your medical background and you have never clarified why the clips were put in you in the first place. What EXACTLY was wrong with you that caused you to need surgery and the subsequent clips?

We don't even know why you are on the Ovarian Cancer forum.  Do you or someone you know have ovarian cancer?  It has not been mentioned in one of your posts. We have asked you that question how many times now and each and every time you evade the question or just REFUSE to answer it. From what I can tell you are just going to several women's forums for the sole purpose of alarming women who already have enough problems without your Chicken Little story playing over and over.

You say that we are making you go to the hysterectomy forum, but on Sept 7th you did a post asking women to tell you if they had any similar problems and NO ONE responded.      http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/620404  ; What would be your point in returning to that forum to ask this question again?  To try and scare a whole new audience? So obviously we are not banishing you to the hysterectomy forum, because you have been there before & they obviously have no interest in pursuing this topic either.

Also, your responses to other people's questions in that forum & others were not addressing THEIR issues, they were addressing YOUR issues. When that poor little girl who is only 19 yrs old said that she had pain in her tailbone and lower abdomen after intercourse did you suggest any one of the HUNDREDS of OTHER things it could be?  NO!!  You jumped right into the surgical clips issue.  That baffles me, because no where did she mention any surgeries she might have had and no where did you inquire as to whether she had had surgeries or not.   Instead you told her to ask her Dr if she had had any clips put in her.  Why would you tell her that without knowing if she had even had any surgeries?  The only thing I can think of is so you would have an excuse to go on another rant about these clips.  You did not ask any clarifying question that could have helped  All you did was either scare her if she has had surgery or baffled her if she didn't.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/653706

What exactly is your purpose here?  If you really wanted to help women you wouldn't keep coming onto forums that tell you they have had little or no problems with this. Instead of trying to help those women who you might be able to help you keep coming back to MH to scare people and for what purpose?  So you won't feel alone?  To warn us of the Dr you used?  To encourage women in a helpful manner to go back and ask their Dr's if they have clips as I have suggested you do?  I offered some excellent suggestions in reply to one of your posts as to how you could really help those women and men you claim to be so concerned about, but instead of asking me for more information, you came on this post and acted like we had bullied you into leaving the OvCa forum.  Everyone knows this is not true.              

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/655607  ;

You have done 24 posts and they are all on the same subject except one response about sutures and even that reply had an alarmist tone to it. Do you work for a medical supply company that has some new and improved clip you are trying to sell?

Rayner:  What is your story? Why did you come on MH?  What problem do you have that brings you to the Ovarian Cancer forum?  You have only done one post and this is it and I find it hard to believe that you just stumbled on this post and than didn't do a post on what you really came to MH for.  I am sorry that your mother had this problem, but for you to say that "most Drs are extreemly (sic) irresponsible" is ridiculous.  MOST Drs are loving, kind, professional people who go into medicine to HELP people and for you to suggest otherwise is COMPLETELY irresponsible.  What is your point in saying that?  To warn women?  No, I think your reason for that is to scare women and what good does that do?  Do you expect women to just skip going to the Dr on the SLIM chance that they might get a bad one?  I agree that women should be told about the clips, but Drs look at it as another medical tool and not a dangerous alien waiting to be ripped out of us by an MRI machine. I am sorry that your mother had a problem, but do you honestly believe that most Drs spend all of their time trying to figure out how they can do the shoddiest job possible while deliberately maximizing our discomfort and pain?  

If you two want to help others than look at the post I responded to with some worthwhile suggestions for helping others and take it from there.  

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/655607

Jan

[rainyer]

My mother had metal clips placed inside her after a hysterectomy and was never told about them until years later when her leg swelled up so large she could barley walk. She had an X-ray which shown up a huge amount of metal clips whilst becoming very poorly on holiday.  The clips were not even documented in her notes as being placed in her which I find outrageous and she was told by her GP that there is no need to document them or even make her aware they were placed there. After the hell my mother has been through and is still going through I can say with my hand on my heart that most Drs are extreemly irresponsible, we women should have the right to know if clips are placed inside us.

[JC145]

Never had an MRI .. hmmmmm   Judy

[mirade]

I am happy that you have established the consistency of the clips in your abdomen being titanium and not stainless steel and therefore they should not cause you any problems as far as scans are concerned and i sincerely hope that they do not give way as mine did under pressure (intercourse) and cause lymphatic blockage, venous obstruction, lifelong pain,swelling and misery because surgeons seem very reluctant to remove offending clips for some reason?? I wish you good luck and good health in the future. Mirade.

[Mary 53]

Hi Pam, I meant to get to this sooner. I have had Two MRI's Since my hysterectomy in  2000. The Tech who called me to set up the procedure wanted me to call the Oncologist's office to see what kind of clips were put into my body after I told them that I had a few "metal" (as far as I could guess) clips in my body. But, I did not know I had ANY clips until after my FIRST MRI ...after the hysterectomy. Go figure! Anyway, I was reassured that they were made of titanium.

Mary

[mirade]

I would like to reasure all ladies that it is not dangerous to have an abdominal MRI if the clips in their lower abdomens are made of TITANIUM as this is a non reactive material. In my case the clips were made of stainless steel which is the reason that i cannot undergoe a abdominal MRI because the clips can move dramatically due to the huge magnets that are part of the MRI examination and they will move and cause internal injuries. My injuries were caused on the first occassion that my abdomen was put under pressure three post hysterectomy (intercourse) and this gives me cause for concern for any other ladies that have had metal clips placed in their abdomens at hysterectomy without their knowledge. There are no large magnets involved in CT, ultrasound or e-rays and these particular examinations will not cause problems regarding metal clips regardless of what they are made of. I hope that this clarifies matters for you all. God bless. Mirade.

[gma718]

Since I had an abdominal hysterectomy and than another abdominal surgery for a rutured bowel I am curious do I have any metal clips??? I didnt have any cancer just the 2 surgeries 1 week apart from each other...Thanks, Girls...Love, Gia

[SimplyStar]

The people giving the MRI just have to know about them because clips do cause a distortion on the reports,  Most all of you had the MRI done  on the abdomen, usually after a complete hysto,  what they worry about is the movement of the clips and the possibility of causing them to loosen. so they will want to know how long it has been since your surgery.  This little artical shows when the MRI  should not be done. With Leslee it was 6 months, time for the clips to heal and be embedded in tissue.

Patient with any metallic materials within the body must notify their physician prior to the MRI scan. This is because, metallic chips, materials, metal implants, surgical clips or foreign materials (artificial joints, metallic bone plates or prosthetic devices, etc) can significantly distort the images obtained by an MRI scanner. Patients with pacemakers, metal chips or clips in and around the EYEBALLS cannot be scanned by an MRI because of the risk that the magnet may move the metal in these areas. Patients with artificial heart valves, metallic ear implants, bullet fragments and {chemotherapy or insulin PUMPS } should not undergo MRI scanning.

So I see this as a moot point when it comes to a doctor knowing when you had your surgery and  if none of the forbidden things are there, it does no harm. Leslee lost several after her bladder became diseased, the tissue  could no longer hold them. This happened after her last MRI.

[coogeegirl]

I have had a MRI post surgery and I still have staples due to the fact that my oncologist left them in to guide my radiation oncologist where my tumor was for when I was getting treatment.

I had no problems with my MRI or the PET scan or any of the CT scans that I have had since surgery.

Jenny

[vegas2cr]

Before my surgeries I had an MRI and I had metal clothes pin clips on my tubes from my tubal ligation.. they are METAL.. I was even told oh look at your clothes pins... Before the MRI they asked and I told them and they said NO PROBLEM and they were put in over 32 years ago...Now I of course have nothing... and no staples I am aware of.. Ronni

[Tybear]

Sorry, that sentence should be "do I have any metal in my body that *they* are not aware of"...

[Tybear]

I have had at least 4 done, all for preparation to have surgery. I have to fill in a huge questionnarie that asks me things like, have I ever worked around metal, is there any chance I could have metal in my eye, have I ever had abdominal surgery, do I have a pace maker, do I have any metal in my body that I am not aware of. Because I fill out that I have had abdominal surgery, they ask you about a hundred more questions, and I've always told them I have metal clips. I actually had to get them a copy of my surgical report so they could read about what kind of stapler was used and roughly where the staples were put.
From what I know, staples are put in there to stop vessels from bleeding. I had no idea I had staples until I read my surgical report. It wasn't something they came out and told me. You can actually see them on my x-rays...there all over my abdomen. I passed one earlier this year, and it literally looks like a very tiny metal staple.
Thanks Pam, for posting this...I'm curious too, to see who has had post surgical MRI's.
Becky

[crecco]

  I too have had about 3 post surgery MRI's and never once have I been asked any questions pertaining to my surgery. I think that I had one in Effingham and 2 in Decatur. The Dr orders them and they do it. I do not even recall filling out papers.
  From what I remember the extent of my questioning was had I had surgery yet. The papers they recieve explain exactly where the Drs want to see and why. So they know ahead of time that I have ovarian cancer and they are doing pictures of the chest, pelvis and abdomen.
  But the heated discussion did make me wonder if I had clips of any kind in me. I am still not real clear on why there would be, but I guess they have their reasons.
    Chris

[kmccarthy]

Oh wow. I have had so many MRIs, CT scans, PET/CT scans that I couldn't not begin to count them all.

I always have them done by the same place, and their questions are always thorough (past cancer history, familial health problems, past surgeries, blood sugar problems, etc.)  no matter how many scans I've had done.

I can't think of any residual problems from the scans.


Kelly