DIEP FLAP and metal Q for future MRI

Reperella

Lillie, I had DIEP surgery in 2012. Need to get an MRI tomorrow. A question came up asking if I had any metal inside of me. Are you able to speak to this?

Thank yo

Peregrinelady

Lillie was on the John Hopkins site and I am not sure she is answering questions any more. I had DIEP surgery in 2016 and was not told anything about metal, but you should call your surgeon’s office to be sure.

besa

I have DIEP flap reconstruction (and later a contralateral sGAP reconstruction) and have had multiple MRI's in the years following my surgeries with no issue. Most (or more likely all of us) who have had these reconstructions have very small titanium clips in our bodies (easy to see on an x ray) but my experience was that this was never an issue when it came to MRIs.

(These small surgical clips are commonly used in multiple types of surgeries to stop bleeding.)

You can call your local hospital radiology department or, as pregrinelady said, your surgeons office to confirm.

See also link below (from google search on topic)

https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/mri-safety/