Future MR Diagnosis post ADR/TDR?

[prusinski]

I'm in line for the In Motion lumbar disc between L5 and L4 at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center and curious about future imaging options with a metal implant.

Anybody post ADR/TDR with Charite', In Motion or other metal lumbar disc know if Magnetic Resonance imaging is possible, post surgery/implant? I understand X-Ray and Sonography are possible, but I'm curious if anyone has been told that MRI's will not be possible after the metal discs are implanted? Thank you!

[sahuaro]

I have a Prestige ST cervical ADR which is stainless steel and had a post-surgery MRI to check on the level below--but it was inconclusive because of the blurred image. There has been discussion on this board about changing some parameters of the MRI to allow for imaging, but apparently these adjustments are not universally known to radiologists.

[prusinski]

While being scanned, did you feel tugging from the dense magnetic field? Perhaps they used a coil (cage), but even so, I'm surprised they would have placed you in the scanner. Thank you for your feedback. I've been told after my In Motion ADR/TDR, I would not have that imaging modality available. It's good to know the field didn't cause disc movement. Thanks again.

[annapurna]

If you have a radiologist willing to take a little extra time, you should be able to image L5S1 and L34 with an ADR at L45. With the adjustments Sahuaro mentioned, our radiologist was able to move the artifact caused by the ADR forward (towards the spinal cord) enough to accurate image the facets. I don't know that the adjustments are unknown, just that it takes time and insurance companies aren't reimbursing for that extra effort. We ended up paying in cash for the MRI but it was worth it.

[sahuaro]

I forgot to mention that whether or not you can have any MRI will depend on what metal your ADR is made of: stainless steel is not magnetic, so it was okay to have the study. Although my Prestige didn't go flying out of my neck, it definitely did heat up!

[prusinski]

Thanks for the feedback considering the discs material and radiologists skill. At least the disc didn't get pulled causing trauma, even though heating can definitely become painful too. These points provide some considerations for discs and future tomography. I'm very glad to hear MRI may still be possible for future diagnosis under specific conditions. Thanks you guys!

[Slackwater]

Originally Posted by prusinski

I'm in line for the In Motion lumbar disc between L5 and L4 at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center and curious about future imaging options with a metal implant.

DEL.TEXT
I'm curious if anyone has been told that MRI's will not be possible after the metal discs are implanted? Thank you!

ref: SpinalKinetics: Future Cervical ADR, M6
Spine. 2007 Mar 15;32(6):673-80
Magnetic resonance imaging clarity of the Bryan, Prodisc-C,
Prestige LP, and PCM cervical arthroplasty device

PMID: 17413473


MRI - I'm just a patient reading about ...
InMotion is made of what type of metal?

MRI clarity is affected by non-titanium metals.
Ceramics do well in imaging to my limited understanding.

S-->

[annapurna]

Ceramics don't affect MRIs or CTs that much. Titanium, being both low density and non-magnetic, doesn't affect either as bad as do the cobalt or stainless steel surgical alloys.

BTW, in a separate thread I had said that stainless steels aren't used in surgical applications. I stand corrected, the Prestige advertises themselves as using stainless steels. Go figure, brand new advanced disk using fifty year old metallurgy.

[prusinski]

It looks like the Charite' and In Motion end plates are constructed of cobalt chromium. I'm not sure if that makes them magnetically responsive?

[annapurna]

Will they move in an MRI? No. Will they mess up the image in the near vicinity of the ADR? Yes.