Retardz

Has anyone ever been allergic to the titanium clips used during cholecystectomy?

My mom had gallbladder surgery 8 wks ago. She is having a lot of pain. and swelling at the site of the clips. She has an allergy to metal and I was wondering if anyone out there has experienced being allergic to these clips. Her surgeon won't help her at all. He tells her he does not know what it wrong and tells her to go to a family physician. It looks like a growth on her stomach and that site. It does not look normal. The doctor told her she was crazy when she mentioned the allergy to the clips. Any info would be very helpful. I am worried about my mom.

Public Comments

1. While my first thought was that it is impossible to be allergic to titanium, my research revealed that while extremely rare, there are indeed validated reports of titanium allergy. I am including the links to two abstracts published in scientific journals clearly establishing titanium allergy. The third link I am including is to a company named MELISA that sells a diagnostic test for metal allergies, including titanium allergies. All that is required to perform the test is a blood sample. (Note that a patch test is not sufficient for diagnosing titanium allergy, it must be a blood test.) The fact that your mother already knows she has an allergy to metal suggests she could be one of the few with an allergy to titanium. I recommend bringing all of this information to your mother's surgeon. If he continues to be dismissive, you should immediately seek a second opinion. Also, it is possible that your mother's issue is due to some other factor, so please don't rule anything out in exploring the source of her condition.