Can airport security tell if you have breast implants?

The breast implants will not be visible to the TSA agent. Breast prosthesis, however, will be detected during a full-body scanner. Travelers with breast prosthesis should inform the TSA agent about their prothesis before proceeding into the scanner; they may go through additional security screening.



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Dental Implants and Full-Body Scanners Backscatter machines use low-level radiation, similar to the radiation that makes X-Rays possible. Both types of scanners may detect your dental implants. However, the TSA agent reviewing the images is unlikely to flag you.

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Airport security body scanners detect all objects between the scanner and the skin; and whilst they are able to recognise clothing they are unable to identify silicone breast forms. If you are wearing a prosthesis it could therefore trigger an alarm.

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Silicone is an invisible material by radiographic examination. It is non-metallic and is a pure element (#14 on the Periodic Table) of which it is not 'seen' by standard x-ray images. It would be detectable by CT and MRI scans but these are not what the airports use for body scanning.

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You may have heard about breast implants exploding at high altitudes – this is just a myth! It is completely safe to fly not too long after breast enlargement surgery with silicone breast implants. In fact, many of our breast enlargement patients have been Air Hostesses or Pilots and had no problems at all.

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Your breast form is not considered to be an item of the 3-1-1 rule, which restricts to travel with liquids or gels. A prosthesis is considered to be a medical necessity and is therefore allowed in the hand luggage.

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Current airport X-ray scanners produce images in orange, blue and green. Each color corresponds to a material category—orange means organic material (food, paper, marijuana), green is for medium-dense non-organic materials like plastic soda bottles, and blue means metals or hard plastics.

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