"Implants a TSA challenge"

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

TSA tries to finesse checks of people with implants
By Barbara De Lollis
USA TODAY


As the number of people with heart devices and artificial joints and bones
grows, so will the number of airline passengers who receive lengthier
security exams. 

There are no estimates on the number of people with implants passing through
checkpoints, but the Transportation Security Administration expects more as
the huge baby boomer population ages. The orthopedic implant market, for
instance, is already growing at twice the annual rate of five years ago,
says Stryker, an orthopedic implant manufacturer. Much of the growth is
driven by people ages 50 to 65, who want to ease their pain or return to
active lifestyles.

"They're getting older, and they're getting new parts in their bodies," says
Sandra Cammaroto, who oversees screening procedures for people with
disabilities for the TSA. The TSA is trying to improve its screening of
passengers with implants. 

Implants come in two groups: pacemakers and defibrillators - life-saving
devices that regulate heartbeats - and orthopedic implants, such as hips and
knees.

Last week, the TSA finished filming an instructional video that teaches
screeners how to pat down passengers with newly implanted heart devices
without hurting them, Cammaroto says. She received at least two letters from
people complaining that screeners hurt them by pressing too hard on their
surgical area, she says. The area just below the collarbone can feel sore
for weeks after surgery.

"The last thing we want to do in the process is cause this person more
pain," Cammaroto says. The video instructs screeners to pat surgical areas
lightly and avoid moving clothing, since it won't reveal anything anyway,
she says.

Doctors and surgeons say patients often will ask what they can expect at
airport checkpoints.

"They just want to know if they're going to ring the alarm," says Earnest
"Chappie" Conrad, an orthopedic surgeon in Seattle.

Arriving at a checkpoint with an implant or device means a good chance of
spending more time there than a companion. Secondary screenings can take
three to five minutes, vs. less than a minute for an uneventful step through
the gate, according to the TSA. Searches for those with medical conditions
or disabilities often take even longer, Cammaroto says.

Frequent flier and Conrad patient Jim Shepherd, 49, used to breeze through
the gate when flying for his job each week. An engineer for woodworking
machinery manufacturer Weinig Group, Shepherd memorized the TSA do's and
don'ts: no shoes, gum wrappers, coins or metal belt buckles. 

But his life changed last year when he broke his right arm, revealing
cancer. Conrad did the surgery and gave Shepherd a titanium replacement
bone. Shepherd says he now trips the alarm and undergoes secondary searches
on most flights. "If you've got an implant big enough to set off the alarms,
you're probably used to adversity, so live with it," he says.

Some patients worry about the unwanted public attention. "You're singled out
in the crowd," says Blake Hunter, 36, a Canadian who founded the Pacemaker
Club. "Most people would rather walk normally through the checkpoint." 

People with devices often visit his club's Web site, www.pacemakerclub.com,
to complain about airport searches, he says. "For people who are new to it,
I can see it being quite a stressful event."

Checkpoint experiences can vary depending on implant type, TSA staffing
levels, the individual screener and a traveler's readiness. The TSA
recommends that patients bring medical cards that identify their implant,
although many patients say that the card makes no difference in their exam. 

What to expect if you have:

.Pacemakers or defibrillators. Many people with these devices follow
doctor's or manufacturer's advice: Avoid metal detectors and hand wands and
request a hand search. Some doctors say there's a remote risk that
electromagnetic interference can cause a device to malfunction. A pacemaker
could reset or a defibrillator could deliver a painful shock. The TSA knows
of no such incident.

Jeffrey Olgin, chief of cardiac electrophysiology at the University of
California-San Francisco who specializes in abnormal heart rhythms, tells
patients that walking through a metal detector normally should cause no
problem. "They don't want to stop in the middle of (the detector) or lean up
against it." 

Manufacturer Guidant recommends a hand search but says that if a screener
uses a handheld wand, ask him or her not to hold it near the device "any
longer than is absolutely necessary."

Screeners are trained to be discreet when a passenger tells them that they
have a device. 

San Francisco stockbroker Paul Ruby, 66, who received a pacemaker almost
four years ago, doesn't mind saying "pacemaker" when it's his turn. He
requests a pat-down and considers the extra hassle a small trade-off.

"The gadget's wonderful," Ruby says. "You've got to live with them. You
wouldn't live without them."

.Hips, knees and other metal implants. Metal implants often trip alarms,
making further examination mandatory. The TSA won't let patients go, even if
they have a medical card identifying an implant. "When they alarm, we will
have to resolve that alarm just like all other alarms," Cammaroto says.

People with hips, knees or rods in their backs have different experiences. 

Bob Henderson, a law firm consultant based in Jackson Hole, Wyo., says that
he triggers alarms only 10% of the time despite metal rods and screws in his
back, knee and hand. But Kathy Kearns, 55, a schoolteacher who lives in
Bakersfield, Calif., says her titanium knee sounds alarms in most airports.

How to get through security safely, discreetly    
 
  Tips from the TSA for people with pacemakers, defibrillators and other
devices and metal implants:

  If you have a device or implant that you want to keep private, ask the
screener for discretion during the screening process. You can request a
private screening.

  It is recommended, but not required, that you tell the screener that you
have an implanted device and where it is located.

  You can show the screener your device identification card if you have one,
but it is not required.

  Ask for a pat-down inspection rather than walking through the metal
detector or being searched with a hand wand.

  If you have an implanted bone growth stimulator or other device that
operates under a specific magnetic calibration, and an X-ray could disrupt
its calibration, you can request a pat-down exam.

  Screeners will need to resolve all alarms associated with metal implants.
Most alarms can be resolved during a pat-down inspection and should not
require the lifting or removal of clothing. 

Attached Photo:

Easy now: Patients with heart devices can find the area just below the
collarbone is sore for weeks after surgery.

tsa-inside.jpg