My wife recently went under the knife for a knee replacement. If things continue to improve, it appears that we may yet be able to take our long awaited C-class trip to AKL. (Yes, that one. )

My question is whether or not folks here have had good success/no success/meaningless encounters with TSA when presenting the "Joint Replacement" Card that her surgeon gave her.

I'm guessing she'll end up in secondary anyhow, but perhaps other FT'ers have found these cards to be of help.
Thanks and Best, Dave

I don't enen bother showing my card anymore -2 hip replacements and as I go thru those @#$% machines I set off all sorts of bells and whistles.
I have the routine down pretty well now -walk thru -turn right - spread yopur arms and legs -get patted down (hey guy after the pat down you could at least buy me a drink)-worrying where your carry on is going -
Seriously -I have shown my card -and it makes absolutely no difference -set off the bells and whistles and your headed for secondary screening.

Dave, a suggestion from an older woman. Advise your wife to wear a skirt or shorts so that the scars show. This is make any card unnecessary. One look...... worth a thousand words.

This is counter to the feelings of most women that they need to cover up scars.

Bon Voyage!

My S-in-L gets the secondary every time despite doctor letters, cards, pleas etc. She resigns herself to the TSA magic wand lady and an extra 5 min of useless security showtime.

MisterNice

Appreciate the advice. She generally likes to wear slacks on a plane to stay warm, but I'm sort of resigned to TSA-Secondary Fun based on what I've heard so far.
(No scar-phobia for her, this is her second major knee OP. )
Best, Dave

I've got 4 inches of steel in my right lower arm and it makes thing go off from time to time. You can oftne control this yourself; i.e. go through the detector quickly and keep yourself compact to maximise the mass of yourself to pass through int he shortest time (hands along body, set for down just in the middle of detector, etc.) and it will always go off, metal or not. Conversly, get one arm out in front, make sure you set your foot beyond the detector as you walk through and one arm out back, etc.

It's fun, sometimes it's a cure girl doing the pat downs and being able to set off (or avoid setting off) the detector at will is a nice feature.

-A

As you know, I had a knee replaced a few months before last year's Sindo. Every time, I travel in the United States, I get secondary automatically.
Normally I tell the screener that it is a knee replacement and just walk past to enter the corral. Not my last time at LAX where it came close to arrest because I did what I normally do and the "description of screener deleted" accused me of shoving her. It took management intervention to get me to the AS Boardroom on time.

BTW: the problem is only in the U.S. (and possibly Canada-my travels have not taken me there since the knee) and not anywhere else including tough places like SIN, BKK and NRT. In fact, often outside the U.S. the alarm does not even sound.

What I find really offensive is that they not only wand, but do a double pat down. That is besides ignoring those of us who may be in the corral waiting for screening. Showing your scar is not effective, they still are just as obnoxious. BTW: According to the latest posted TSA guidelines for passengers, the pat down is unnecessary, but always done.

Best of luck to your other half, she will be much more mobile even though the pain may not totally go away.

Another vote for displaying scars not being effective. A couple years ago I wore a dress on a trip. My artificial ankle joint set off the beeper, so got pulled aside for the pat-down. Took off my shoes to be wanded head to foot. The long scar on the front of my ankle was pretty obvious, but when the wand beeped at my foot, the TSO still ran her hand over my foot and ankle. As if I was hiding a weapon *INSIDE* my foot? ...?

Anyway, it was too ridiculous not to laugh but I managed to hold in the laughter until I was away from the checkpoint.

You might consider having the metal removed just prior to your vacation flight, and upon your arrival at the destination arrange for another hospital and surgeon to put the joint back. This would certainly expedite the security screening process for your wife and other passengers.

Best of luck to your wife on her surgery.

My sister had hip replacement several years ago and we always do security as team. I go first so that when she gets pulled aside I can keep an eye on what TSA has - and grab what TSA has missed.

TSA at EWR told her the card from surgeon was useless as far as he was concerned and a waste of her time.

Anyone ever consider that cards, letters, etc. are a waste of time because there is still an alarm to be resolved?

What is the difference if a hip sets it off or a gun?

Same alarm in the same place.

Simply resign yourself to the laws of physics and try to keep extraneous metal in your clothing to a minimum. Tell the screener you have a hip/shoulder/knee before you go through the metal detector and hopefully you'll be through in no time.

Best, Dave

[QUOTE=opushomes;8314836] BTW: According to the latest posted TSA guidelines for passengers, the pat down is unnecessary, but always done. [QUOTE]

Link, please as I can't find it. Thanks.

Sorry, I misspoke, by omission the wanding appears to be unnecessary and I personally see no reason for the second patdown that I receive at the end of the screening process. They already pat you down once during the wanding. The whole process is more than annoying and intrusive since it occurs every time one passes through U.S. security.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...al_1374.shtm#1

I was checking in at a small Southern airport when the county sheriff stepped up the counter and heaved a softball-sized piece of steel onto the counter. He said: "She missed it again." I assumed it had to do with the screener.

Anyway I went through the screening process right after the sheriff had chewed out the security woman and she reset the sensitivity of the metal detector. I was stripped down to t-shirt and Bermuda shorts and no shoes or socks. She kept wanding me and telling me I had steel in my feet. What a fiasco.