Breast prosthesis
 

I'm sure this isn't the first time this has been asked, but when I do a search I either get a zillion results or none.

Anyway, while I know that technically I can wear my partial breast prosthesis on the plane what I want to know is if it is likely to cause me problems when it comes to security. I can deal with being lop sided for a few hours and check it if that's the way to go, but I'd obviously rather wear it. It's made of a rather peculiar gel if that's relevant. :D

Note this isn't about what if "right" but what is practical in terms of fastest transit.

Fastest, surest transit = do without.

It may not be an issue -- it officially isn't an issue. But actually dealing with TSA bears little resemblance to their published procedures.

~~ Irish

It all depends on whether or not you are selected to go through a nude-o-scope. If you are lucky and only have to go through the WTMD (walk-thru-metal-detector) it won't hold you up at all. Not being metal, and not being an obvious "anomaly" on your body to the naked eye, nobody will know it's there.

But if you get the nude-o-scope, unfortunately it is FAR more likely that you will be forced to go through a subsequent grope. And then, you have a good chance that they are going to want to "clear" it visually, since it will have shown up as an anomaly on the scanner.

If you opt out of the nude-o-scope, you WILL get groped - and then you chance that the TSO will notice via touch that it's "different" and will want to "clear" it.

Sad, isn't it? I wish there was a better answer. It's disgusting that you even have to THINK about whether or not to wear it, in order to be able to fly without being assaulted and having your privacy so horrifically invaded.

Btw, you shouldn't have to check it. If you choose not to wear it, you can carry it on. It's a medical device, and TSA rules allow you to carry it on even though it's made of gel.

I wonder if, either way, the TSO viewing the scan image would call that area an anomaly, due to lack of symmetry?

Agree with both Irish and LeeAnne. You've got three choices: wear it, put it in carry-on while transiting the checkpoint, or put it in a checked bag.

Wearing it will only be a problem, as LeeAnne said, if you get selected for the NoS. Which airports are you using, and can you avoid the NoS completely? (See the "List of airports" thread on the first page.)

Removing it before the checkpoint and putting it in your carry-on may be the least invasive; if it shows up as "liquid" on the x-ray, the screeners will want to inspect it and swab it, but that may be less embarrassing* than having to remove it from your shirt for the same inspection.
*Not by much, I guess. :(

If you put it in your checked bag, it may show up on the x-ray as "something suspicious" and the TSA will open your bag and inspect it. They may also take the opportunity to inspect everything else in your bag, and (perhaps accidentally) fail to put everything back when they're done. If the prosthetic is expensive and/or difficult to replace, you shouldn't put it in checked baggage.

Yeah, it sucks that people have to worry about things like this just to travel on an aircraft. :mad:

Good point, which I forgot to mention. Bottom line, Missionpa, if you plan on having it with you at the checkpoint (either on your body or in your bag), there is no way to ensure that you will not have to suffer the indignity of having it inspected. If you are lucky enough to be using airports that don't have NoS's, I would recommend wearing it, as at least then you won't have to worry about it being seen in the bag x-ray. Of course you still might be pulled out for a random grope, and then you might be faced with a TSO who gets a little too grabby and recognizes that your breast is not "normal" and will want to inspect it. :(

I'm not so sure that a prosthetic breast would trigger a checked-bag search - it doesn't look anything like a weapon, and there's no issues with carrying liquids/gels in checked luggage. Of course her bag could be pulled out for inspection for any reason whatsoever, so your warning is valid - I'm just not sure that the prosthesis would increase the likelihood of that happening.

None of our checked property is safe these days. :rolleyes:

Doesn't it? Just makes me sick. And sad for those of us with medical devices who have to be treated like scum for the "crime" of having been through illness/surgery.

Wish I could tell you...
 

Dear missionpa,

It is so sad to me that you should even have to ask this question. I wish there was a definitive answer. If you are transiting through airports/checkpoints utilizing walk through metal detectors (WTMD), your prothesis should not set off any alarms, but you could still be selected for random additional screening during which your prosthesis would be discovered, triggering additional screening to clear you past the security check point. You could be selected for being lopsided! I don't know how intrusive this additional screening might be, nor do I know how much additional time this might take before you might be allowed to board your flight. I wish there was a better answer. If you are transiting through an airport/check point with the advanced imaging technology, your anomaly is quite likely to trigger additional screening, with or without the prosthesis. I hate that you should even have to worry about such a thing! Have you asked the TSA this question re: travelling while lopsided? I am curious what they might suggest is the best course of action to speed transit through the checkpoint and avoid any issues.

If you are flying through airports w/o the AIT's (check http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...y-scanner.html for further information), you might be just fine passing through the WTMD and your entire experience through the checkpoints will be uneventful. At any rate, decide in advance what you will do if directed through the AIT. Since you are most likely to be selected for additional screening at that point anyways, I would advise opting out of the AIT entirely.

Missionpa, I have nothing further to add than what has already been posted in response to your query, except Best of Luck. I hope your passage through airports during your trip is uneventful and minimally intrusive.

I second this. Personally I opt out just on basic principle (refusal to be irradiated, refusal to have strangers looking at my naked body). But I also opt out for practical reasons: having just been through major back surgery, I'm told that my fresh set of two still-swollen four-inch surgical incisions are likely to appear as an anomaly in the NoS, causing me to get groped. If I'm going to get groped anyway, I might as well skip the radiation/naked ogle.

^^

Ditto!

...and I hope you enjoy your gravity defying experience too :D

I agree with the rest of your post. But at the risk of being too cynical, I'm sure TSA will say that they treat all passengers with respect, there's nothing to worry about, the image on the NoS is suitable for a kindergarten, the x-ray machine is safe, blah blah blah. They claim they have "procedures" for dealing "appropriately" with such issues, but of course, "(imaginary, illusory) security is more important than (4th amendment rights) privacy." :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Any resemblance between what TSA says and what TSA does is purely coincidental. :(

Hmm - actually I doubt they would be able to tell it wasn't me by touch - I can't tell it isn't me by touch :D (it's not a full prosthesis, just a partial to even me up). And in fact, call me brazen, but I don't have any problem whipping it out to show someone (although getting it back into position might be more difficult). I just don't want to be slowed down more than I need to be. If I put it in my carry-on, would I put it in my baggie or what?

On the whole I'd rather check it but, of course, I have to consider lost and damaged bags - it was on the expensive side, and I don't relish filling out an insurance form with the term "lost breast".

If you check it, there's the risk that it might be removed and discarded by someone who doesn't know what it is. Items go missing on a regular basis. I'd wear it and attempt to self-direct to a WTMD if possible (check the link mentioned earlier). If you are randomly picked for additional screening, there's a chance that it wouldn't be noticed. If you are pushed to an AIT, I'd still recommend opting out since a "resolution pat-down" is likely to follow anyways (whether you wear it or not). If you are the brazen sort :D, go ahead and whip it out for their inspection and swabbing procedure whilst explaining in a loud and clear voice what it is so that other passengers will feel "safe". If you put it in your carry-on, I'd put it in a bag separate from other liquids and be prepared to explain... oh, and you might want to insist on the donning of fresh gloves if they're insistent on handling it.

radiogirl, I figured the TSA response would be "blah, blah, blah", useless and have nothing to do with actual events. :rolleyes:

You're in a position to do something awesome, if you feel like it.

Go ahead and wear the prosthesis. If any of the blue-shirted thugs so much as comment about it, whip it on out and wave it around asking them why they hate women who've survived breast cancer in a loud-but-not-quite-yelling voice.

Make sure every passenger at the checkpoint knows what the TSA stopped you for, and what it was that triggered their "suspicion."

Make sure that every smurf at the checkpoint who is still capable of empathy and remorse feels it - not that I expect there to be many of those left at this stage of their particularly nasty games.

Get video of their reactions, if possible. Put them up on Youtube.

The "anything for security" crowd needs to see exactly what they're asking from everyone else.

That's not quite fair.

Any resemblance between what TSA says and what TSA does is purely accidental. Just read Bloghdad Bob's lies about photography at the checkpoint vs. what the TSA really does to photographers at the checkpoint.