Anyone had to remove Baha abutment before MRI?

[Nancy T]

Hi folks--I used to post a bit here a long time ago. I got a Baha in 2008 and love it! (No acoustic neuroma--have left-side sudden hearing loss from sneezing.)

Question--has anyone had a post-Baha head MRI and been made to remove the abutment first?

Tonight I got as far as getting into the hospital gowns and giving them (at their request) the little card that Cochlear provides for security and MRI, when she came back and said I had to reschedule--because the little card says the "gold" screw (it's titanium, isn't it?) MAY be removed before MRI, so the radiologist apparently took that as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I have to reschedule when an audiologist is available.

I can't believe they haven't had Baha patients before! And furthermore, they had requested me to bring the card in last week so they could take a copy of it and the radiologist could sign off on it ahead of time. Which I did. But no one called and told me I'd have to have it removed.

I don't mind the inconvenience as much as I mind having lost a certain amount of confidence in their MRI department!

Please share any post-Baha MRI experiences you've had. Thanks!

Oh, BTW, this is not a scan looking for acoustic neuroma. It's looking for the possibility of MS, so the implant area is not important.

Nancy T.

[leapyrtwins]

Nancy -

I'm shocked by your post. 

Since my BAHA implant I've had 3 MRIs and I'll be scheduling the 4th in April 2011.

My first MRI after my BAHA was only 1 month post implant. 

The BAHA "equipment" is titanium and doesn't interfere with an MRI, so these medical personnel are highly confused 

All I had to do before I went into the tube of gloom was "disclose" to the technician that I have a BAHA. 

I'm sorry you had to go through so much more.

Jan

[ombrerose4]

I am also surprised! I have had at least 3 MRI's post op Baha, and the only thing I remove is the BAha itself. The abutment is titanium and does not affect MRI. This MRI facility needs some reteaching.

[Nancy T]

Thank you for the validation, Jan and Rose. I was sure this radiologist had a screw loose himself! If he had just bothered to jump on the Cochlear or MRI Safety Web site, he would have seen the truth. Actually, I think Cochlear was not helpful by saying on its little card, "For an MRI near the abutment area, the abutment must be removed by a specialist (i.e. audiologist)." This could be misinterpreted by not-so-sharp radiologists as meaning that if you're going to  have an MRI of your head (which the radiologist apparently interpreted as meaning "near the abutment area"), the abutment MUST be removed, period. I think what the card MEANT to say is that if you want it removed, it MUST be done BY AN AUDIOLOGIST. But the card's wording is admittedly a bit ambiguous.

I wish I'd never given them that stupid card! They had asked me if I had any info regarding the implant to give them, so I handed it over, thinking that surely they knew about Baha or could easily find out about it.

I know the MRI place is busy, they goofed up by not looking at this info and figuring things out last week, but you'd think they would have been resourceful enough to just look on the manufacturer's site or an MRI safety site! But I guess they would rather spend a long time talking back and forth with me and rescheduling me entirely instead of taking a few moments to type "Baha MRi safety" into Google.

Even more surprising is that the Baha surgery was done in the very same facility (Kaiser) where I was going to have the MRI.

Bleah!! What a stupid hassle. Now I won't be able to reschedule for weeks, and I'm afraid I'll lose my very fragile determination to go through all this again (MRI and neuro consult), risking being told yet again that  nothing is wrong with me when clearly there is.

Sorry for the long rant. I just hate it when doctors (radiologists, neurologists, and other types) act like they know everything and can't be bothered to actually look something up or believe that a patient might know something they don't.

OK... rant over. Thanks for the replies!!

Nancy

[lori67]

That is a little shocking, and I think you're right about the guy having a few screws loose himself!   

An audiologist couldn't remove a post that's in your skull with bone grown into and around it anyway.  Well, I suppose he COULD, but I don't think it would be very nice to hit you in the head with a sledgehammer to do it.

When I went for my first MRI after I got my BAHA (they didn't give out the little cards then), the tech was a little confused too, so she called my surgeon, who happened to be a little busy in surgery that day, and then called Cochlear directly.  They assured her that as long as I took the processor off, it was no problem.

I know what you mean about medical professionals who act like the patient can't possibly know what she is talking about.  I have had eye doctors and an ENT do the same thing to me.  I feel like yelling "hey, buddy I can teach YOU a few things about dry eyes, facial nerve paralysis and BAHA's!"

Hope they can reschedule you soon since it's their fault they weren't proactive about this.

Lori

[Nancy T]

Thanks, Lori. I'm hoping that they'll just call the audiologist (right next door to them) and she'll tell them there's no need to remove the abutment. I feel a little apprehensive about even having that done; what if it irritates the site? I always have a low-level redness on one side of the abutment, which gets easily aggravated. I don't even use the brush, because even that baby-soft brush irritates my site.

I guess we'll see...

Yeah, isn't it highly irritating (in another way) when a doctor does not LISTEN to or BELIEVE the patient, or even admit that the patient might have a point or might know something about their own body or their own condition that the doctor doesn't know!

Nancy

[dalern]

I had an MRI a few weeks after my abutment was placed.  Of course I disclosed this to the radiology department.  They asked me for the lot number of the part that was used and a manufacturers description of the implanted post.  That was easy to get from the neurotolgist's office.  I am also in total disbelief that they thought you had to have it removed.  I provided the requested information, and there was no more discussion about it.  This is the first time I have heard of a medical professional saying the abutment needs to be removed.  I think you should have the doctor's office that placed this give them a call.
~Dale

[Nancy T]

Thanks for the reply, Dale. The surgery was done next door to the hospital with its MRI! All Kaiser facilities.

Anyway, someone from the MRI department who apparently oversees safety called me today and said it was fine to leave the abutment in (she called some university department to confirm it). She scheduled me for an appointment Jan. 6 at a time when she'll be there to make sure this doesn't happen again. Apparently the evening shift yesterday did not have enough knowledge about this. Hopefully they will now!

Cochlear e-mailed me a 1997 study on which they base their statement that the Baha is safe for MRI so that I could give it to the MRI department, but I guess that won't be necessary.

What a weird experience. Anyway, I'm glad I can get in reasonably soon again, even if it means getting up at 6 a.m., which I haven't done in many years, except to catch a plane!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for the replies!

Nancy

[saralynn143]

Don't be too hard on the MRI tech. It's their job to err on the side of caution. I had to postpone a MRI for a couple of days while they verified that the teflon pads used in my microvascular decompression were MRI-safe. As the tech apologetically told me, MRI mishaps are not pretty.

[Nancy T]

Hi Sara, thanks for your comments. Yes, I'm sure that safety is their paramount concern (as it should be), as whatever happens is on their shoulders. And actually, the card that Cochlear provides (at least the version that I got) is somewhat ambiguous in its wording, which I think is what caused the problem that night. I wrote to Cochlear and suggested some rewording and inclusion of contact info on the MRI side of the card, which it doesn't have.

I'm just surprised that MRI departments don't maintain (or have access to, via some organization) up-to-date and complete lists of hardware that is OK for MRI, so that they can just consult a database when faced with an implant that is unfamiliar to them. One would think something like that would exist! And there's always Google, and manufacturer Web sites... but perhaps it's all more complicated than I imagine.

Nancy

[Nancy T]

How funny that the MRI protocol can differ so widely in the same facility on different days!

Last week, before my aborted scan, they had me get completely undressed and into gowns.

Today, I wasn't even asked to change. Bra hooks? No problem! Just lie down on the table!

And apparently my chart STILL said I had to have the implant removed before the MRI. But fortunately the tech took my word immediately when I said it was OK and that the "safety person" there knew about it. He then just hurried me off to the scanner.

Thank goodness it's over!

[leapyrtwins]

How funny that the MRI protocol can differ so widely in the same facility on different days!

In my experience it's all based on the tech you get.

Some of my MRIs I've had to put on the gown; others I was told to just keep my street clothes on.

Jan

[tenai98]

I've always had to change from my street clothes.  And depending on what questions they ask when they book me will depend on whether I get blood work done. 
JO
PS my abutment was never a concern.  I informed them that its titanium and all is well...

[opp2]

I have been thinking about BAHA lately. The hardest time I have is when someone is on my left talking away and I'm getting mmmbbmbmbmbmmb...

Poor Kaitie Baby, I have to keep bringing her to my right side. How is it for you Jo now that you've had it for a bit??

Sorry...don't mean to Hijack...

[leapyrtwins]

Poor Kaitie Baby, I have to keep bringing her to my right side. How is it for you Jo now that you've had it for a bit??

I can't speak for Jo, but one of the reasons I decided on a BAHA was because I was constantly moving one of my children (I have twins) to my "good" side so I could hear them.  They were 10 at the time and I found it very frustrating; so did they.

Once I got the BAHA that ended 

Jan