Mechanical valves and MRI scans

[RunMartin]

Does anyone know whether I can have a MRI scan with a CarboMedics mechanical aortic valve. My GP did not know.

Thanks
Martin

 

[zee112]

I'd suggest you find another GP. They're not electrical, so won't interfere at all.

 

[Warrick]

From what I've read you can,
I believe because there is actually some metal there are recommended levels of the intensity of the magnetic field , but I'd be pretty sure the radiographer would know this

https://www.escardio.org/Education/...evaluation-in-patients-with-prosthetic-valves
Virtually all prosthetic heart valves (PHV) are considered safe in the magnetic resonance (MR) environment at field strengths of up to 1.5 T


also - http://www.valvereplacement.org/foru...chnical-valves

 

[pellicle]

They use some sintering of metals within the ceramics to make them appear on xrays , exactly for diagnosis and medical imaging.

Inform the MRI folks and I'm confident they will be fully aware of the protocol

here is an image of mine in an x-ray ... note its not as opaque as the wires (which will actually be more ferrous material than the valve) but will not be a problem either (as mentioned, inform the MRI personnel[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/c2.staticflickr.com\/8\/7251\/8168266981_959cce8beb_h.jpg"}[/IMG2]

 

[RunMartin]

Thanks for your replies. I have a hospital appointment on Thursday that may require a MRI scan in the near future

 

[epstns]

MRI's become much more of a bad situation when you have a pacemaker. I've not heard of any valve patients (without pacemakers) ever having issues with MRI's.

 

[Superman]

D

Does anyone know whether I can have a MRI scan with a CarboMedics mechanical aortic valve. My GP did not know.

Thanks
Martin

Does CarboMedics provide you with a card? St. Jude does. On the back it has "MRI Safety Information". It provides:

• Static magnetic field of 3-Tesla or less
• Spatial gradient of 525 Gauss/cm or less
• Maximum whole-body-averaged specific absorption rate (SAR) of 2.0-W/kg for 15 minutes of scanning

Plus other information. I just give that to the radiology technician if a test is needed. If you don't have a card, I'd suggest reaching out to either the manufacturer or the offices of your surgeon and see about getting one. I keep it in my wallet at all times.

 

[dick0236]

8 or 9 years ago I was refused an MRI because the tech was concerned about the valve and I did not have a wallet ID card......they did not have ID cards when I had the surger in '67....nor did they put serial numbers on the valve.

Like Superman says.....check your ID card or call the manufacturer of the valve. If you don't have an ID card, get one from the manufacturer......it will save you time and grief somewhere down the road.

PS: I finally got an ID card 42 years after surgery but it was like pulling teeth to get enough very old medical records to the manufacturer to verify my surgery. Even so, my card says Model-"UNK Starrew", Serial No-"UNK-178" (I think UNK stands for UNKNOWN) so I guess even the manufacturer is not 100% sure as to what I have but it does appear that it is safe for me to get an MRI. However, it took six months for me to finally get the ID card, so I never did get the MRI......but I got it if I ever need it again.

 

[Paleowoman]

I don't have a mechanical valve but even my tissue valve has some metal in it - cobalt-chromium alloy. I've had several MRI's since AVR three years ago and I contacted the makers of my valve who sent me the specifications for the MRI technician. It's perfectly safe but they make some adjustments. So contact CarboMedics - they should have given you the serial number of your valve etc.