Will my titanium knee set off airport security?

Total shoulder, hip, and knee replacement implants are composed of cobalt-chromium alloys or titanium and are most likely to be detected. Meanwhile, stainless-steel plates, screws, intramedullary nails, wires, and screws are the least likely implants to be detected.



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Over 90% of implanted total hip and knee arthroplasty devices will set off airport metal detectors. Many implants now include ceramic and plastic materials in addition to metal, and the metal will still likely cause an alarm in the metal detector.

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Is it safe to go through the scanners with the metal implant in your body? Though the metal implant can cause inconvenience by triggering the alarm, it does not cause any additional harm to your body. The metal detectors use an electromagnetic field which does not contain any harmful radiation.

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Download and complete a Notification Card to be provided to the TSA officer who will be conducting your screening. The Notification Card is intended to describe your health condition, disability or medical device to the TSA officer in a discreet manner, helping to ensure your privacy.

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If you have a hip replacement, knee replacement, a metal plate and screws, a metal rod inside your bone, or one of many other types of orthopedic implants, you may set off the airport metal detector.

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Wearing a sunflower lanyard enables passengers to self-identify to staff that they have a hidden disability. It is a voluntary program and passengers are not required to participate. Passengers may choose to disclose their disability on the card, but they do not have to.

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Do seniors automatically get PreCheck? No. Anyone who wants to receive PreCheck needs to apply. However, TSA does provide people who are 75 years old or older access to an expedited screening process in the regular screening lines: You can keep your light jacket and shoes on.

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Can the fee for TSA PreCheck® be waived because I have a disability or medical condition? No. The application fee covers the cost of the background check and cannot be waived.

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Other things that accidentally set off body scanners are body piercings and wire supports in undergarments. External tumors might also trigger the machine, but growths inside—such as fibroids—will not. “Perspiration is probably the weirdest thing that can set off the scanners,” Malvini Redden says.

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