Originally Posted by
RadioGirl
I have an entire titanium hip joint and it sets off the WTMD about 30% of the time. I agree with those who say a single screw (or two) is unlikely to be a problem.
This probably doesn't matter, then, but to address your other questions,
it appears that US airports no longer use the handheld metal detector, so if someone
does alarm with an implant, they'd probably get the full-on "patdown." But as much as I hate the TSA and their groping, I wouldn't ask my surgeon to use a less-medically-appropriate material just to avoid the WTMD problem.
Additional unsolicited advice: your relative may be issued a shiny laminated card describing any implanted metal. It is completely useless at the checkpoint; tell them not to waste their time trying to show it to the drones.
(bolding mine)
This may or may not be true. I know some of our resident TSOs said the wands were gone as soon as NoS and the gropes were introduced. I personally have never seen them in use anywhere since the NoS were installed.
However..just recently a longtime TSA poster,
castrobenes, said they are still in use for 'some procedures', but they "don't replace patdowns".
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/checkpoints-borders-policy-debate/1441842-helena-fights-keep-their-mmw-2.html (see last post in thread).
I've always found his posts to be believable and informed, but I can't imagine a situation where the wand + something else would be a satisfactory substitute for a grope. Congressman Rand Paul wasn't offered a wanding instead of a full-body grope after the NoS detected an anomaly in the area of his knee. Of course, he wasn't even allowed to clear himself by pulling up his pant leg for a public visual inspection.