Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - Dr Nguyen - knee replacement - just had it done
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Old 04-25-2015, 09:46 AM
bagboy bagboy is offline
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Originally Posted by JBarracks View Post
The Metal Test....I had total knee replacement three years ago in St. Louis. I was in extreme pain below the knee for three weeks. The surgeon had done thousands of these knee replacements (Stryker) and hadn't seen this before. I was put back in the hospital for four days until the pain subsided. I was on heavy meds but the pain just went away. I hadn't been given a metal test.

Now I am due for another knee replacement on my other knee and as I've already had a Stryker knee replacement the nurse felt no need for a metal test just a patch to test for a metal reaction. I passed the patch test but thought about the problem that I had a few years ago and asked for the metal test (a blood draw). The test results show that I am very reactive to Nickel, Chromium and Zirconium. Just what the Stryker knee is made from.
My new knee will now be made of ceramic material.
FYI I would ask for the metal test. I may have been one in a million to have a reaction to the Stryker knee but the metal test will clear up any doubts.
I have seen numbers ranging from 1 in 4 to 1 in 7 of people who have an allergy to the metals that you described. Unless we have a joint replacement or eat nails for breakfast, one would most likely never know they have the allergy. Before surgery with Dr. Nguyen, the metal allergy potential was discussed. Along with the "patch" test, Dr. Nguyen and his PA strongly suggested, but did not require the blood allergy test.
I opted FOR the test which was done by an independent lab in Chicago. My insurance would not cover the $265 cost. I paid for the test out of pocket and it came back negative, no allergies to metal. A small price to pay for peace of mind or more importantly to avoid any dangerous and painful side effects, should I have been one that has the metal allergy.