[Cynlite]

I know I am allergic to some metals because of my body's reaction to jewelry over the years.

10 months ago in preparation for neck surgery, I paid $400 for a metal allergy blood test from NeuroScience aka Pharmasan Labs. I chose them because they supposedly conduct the MELISA test which is supposed to be the superior metal allergy blood test. (I now believe the MELISA test may be a marketing ploy but, that's another discussion.) Their report did not come back as expected with ranges and a graph as seen in the MELISA test material posted online. All it said was "Positive" or "Negative." I was very disappointed with the report and also frustrated because it put a stop to my surgery plans.

Several weeks ago, I sent my blood out for the metal allergy blood test by Orthopedic Analysis. It costs close to $600 and after fighting my insurance company, I lost the appeal for them to pay for it. Their test results did not agree with the Pharmasan Labs results but, still showed that I am very sensitive to many metals specifically, the metals in the Mobi-C, aluminum and nickel. I am inclined to believe Orthopedic Analysis' report over Pharmasan Labs. Pharmasan Labs' customer service is terrible and they refused to discuss their tests and give ranges to me. It was quite a battle with them. Since I already have Titanium in my body, it also made me question their results. Lastly, please note the lawsuit mentioned later.

Orthopedic Analysis' report showed that I am not allergic to Titanium which is good because the M6-C is made up of 90% Titanium. Fortunately, Orthopedic Analysis' report showed I have a sensitivity to aluminum at a very low level. The cut off is 2 and I had a 2.1. so, that's not perfect but, not terrible. The M6-C is 6% aluminum. I am also not allergic to Vanadium which makes up the remaining 4% of the M6-C.

Pharmasan Labs tests for Titanium Chloride and Titanium Dioxide. Their report came back that I had a positive reaction to Titanium Chloride. I believe that Titanium Chloride is a liquid and really not a good way to measure a Titanium metal sensitivity. I spoke to a PhD in Immunology at Orthopedic Analysis who brought up the point about Titanium Chloride not being useful for these purposes and then told me they use very fine Titanium particles ground up from the metal which makes much more sense to me. They do this because Titanium does not come in a liquid form and apparently, they don't think a test using Titanium Chloride provides the information we patients need in preparing for surgical implants.

I had to approach my problem from a different angel. I have two Titanium screws in my body (in vivo for 25 years.) I will see an Orthopedic Knee Surgeon on Tuesday to get his diagnosis regarding any allergy I might have to Titanium. He will review my knee MRI, knee X-rays, metal allergy blood test and do a physical examination to verify that I am not allergic to Titanium. Note, he was the only knee surgeon in the metro area I could find that is knowledgeable about metal allergies. He is the doctor that ordered the blood test from Orthopedic Analysis as he had used this Lab in the past. This has been a frustrating and difficult problem to figure out because there are no standard processes in place in the U.S. to determine metal allergies to implants. Most surgeons ignore it and doctors including allergists know little about it. I also taped a piece of the metal Spinal Kinetics uses in the M6-C to me for four days and didn't develop a rash. Keep in mind that skin testing is not a good substitute for in vivo. It is just another piece of the puzzle. I was even told by the PhD in Immunology that allergies in vivo could be different in different parts of the body. In the end, as a patient, we just have to gather the evidence and assess our probability of rejecting the implant because of a metal allergy. There is no defined path to finding the answer.

The end of 2015, NeuroScience and Pharmasan Labs were sued by the U.S. government for medicare billing fraud. It makes me wonder about their internal control measures. Since I had a bad experience with them and received a pretty much useless report from them, I do not recommend using this Lab. I do recommend Orthopedic Analysis. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...lower-lawsuit/

This post provides information that took me many months to figure out while I have struggled in pain. I hope this information will help others so they don't have to go through the expense and suffering that I have experienced. If you find my post useful, please consider donating whatever you can afford to the Arthroplasty Patient Foundation. Harrison has been reaching out in another thread for support to keep this website alive and so far only two of us have donated. I'm sure he would be happy with any amount big or small because it all adds up. He needs the money to pay for the monthly charges associated with keeping this website online! Please pay it forward. Thank you. https://www.adrsupport.org/forums/sh...ad.php?t=13386

P.S. I wrote another long post on this thread on Page 17 regarding metal allergies last year. This post is a follow up to that post.