MRI question

[marc_kowal]

So my wife is having an MRI to figure out what's wrong with her knee and it got me thinking what would I have to have done since I have a mechanical valve. CAT scan? are there MRIs that are safe for us mechanical valves? If anyone's been in that situation before, I would love to hear your story.

-Marc

 

[DavesMom]

Hi Marc,

I have a mechanical aortic valve and have gone through a couple of MRIs. It may depend on the age/model of your valve but mine is a Carbomedics from 1999 and it was fine.

Hope this helps!

All the best.

 

[soccer girl]

Hi Marc

I just got an ON-X aortic mechanical valve in April and because I am also relatively young - my surgeon wants me followed by MRI instead of CT. Because I also have two titanium plates and screws - I specifically asked if MRI were feasible considering plates and mechanical valve. My surgeon contacted the manufacturer and was assured that yes MRI were safe (at least for this valve and this plate combination).

Cheers

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Marc - you should have got a little card with details about your valve and contact details of the manufacturer. Ask them. I have a tissue valve (pericardial tissue valves have some metal in the 'ring') and prior to having an MRI I contacted Edwards Lifesciences with the name and model number of my vavle - they sent me back details to give the MRI radiographer so they'd know if there were any adjustments needed for the machine.

 

[marc_kowal]

Thanks for the information everyone!

~Marc

 

[MurmurSinceForever]

Hi Marc, just for completeness, I had this same concern and asked both a friend who does MRI's all day long and the people who did mine and my valve (St. Jude mechanical placed Nov 2014) was just fine. The MRI clinic contacted the manufacturer. I had my MRI (breast cancer screening) 4 months after my AVR surgery. I was told to wait 3 months mostly so the scar was well healed since I had to lay on my stomach for the approximately 30 minutes testing routine.

Best wishes.

 

[R1Phrankey]

I have a Sorin mechanical valve and this is MRI safe. I have found some information on MRI compatibility on their website and the temperature may rise about 1.5 degrees in a 3T MRI scanner (if I remember correctly). This information is only talking about temperature increase. It is the RF that will heat you up. My mechanical valve is made out of titanium and carbon, which is fully MRI safe. All tooling we use in our MRI business is made out of titanium.
I work in MRI business and I am frequently in the magnetic field (1.5T and 3.0T scanners) without any problems. However, since I have my mechanical valve, I have never been in an MRI to have some scans made. Only working in the static magnetic field, which is no issue for the mechanical valve.

 

[W. Carter]

I have a Carbomedics Carbo-Seal and ENT surgeon scheduled me for MRI throat scan. They checked manufacturer and said it was a no go. Sent me to ct scan. Since the valve has titanium ring they said it would heat up and get my heart hot. I have had about 4 or 5 ct scans post operation with no probs.