Hi guys..just interested to know - is there anyone out there who has been banded with the AP band and is allergic to titanium? I'm not sure but I think that I might be allergic to titanium and am scared that if I get the band my body might reject it because there is titanium in the port. I spoke my doctor today about it and he said he would need to check whether it was an issue..he said he didn't think it would be because the titanium is enclosed within the port and shouldn't have any contact with the body..but I just wanted to ask if anyone else can relate?

FWIW,

I'm into BodyMods, specifically piercings and in that realm titanium is regarded as the best materia to place in a fresh piercing as it so rarely causes an allergic reaction. It's almost entirely hypo allergenic.

he said he didn't think it would be because the titanium is enclosed within the port and shouldn't have any contact with the body..but I just wanted to ask if anyone else can relate?

I think I have to disagree with that. The back is titanium and there is nothing that I recall covering the titanium. The reason for the metal is because when you go for fills if there wasn't metal on the back the needle would go all the way through the port. The metal stops it from doing that.

The back of the port would lay against a muscle in your abdomen. It's sewn into the connective tissue above a muscle and below a fat pad.

I don't believe there has been a confirmed case of an allergic reaction to the band to date.

I agree with "TheFox" and what she says as well.

Your doc should have a band and port he shows you before surgery. You can see it for yourself.

I'm 99% sure I am correct about it not being enclosed. But look for yourself, every doc has an example port to show patients. They are provided by Inamed.

What makes you think you are allergic to this material?

I found an abstract about titanium allergy on a surgical board, it is very interesting and brings up a good point, TRUE titanium allergy is beyond rare, those who are "allergic" to it usually end up being allergic to the tiny bit of nickel mixed with the titanium in the device or implant they have. I have no idea if ANY nickel is used in the port or not (even a tiny percentage could cause a problem in someone with a metal allergy). That would be a good question for Allergan.

" '...A number of reports have found that true allergy to titanium is extremely unusual (see abstract enclosed below). Titanium is frequently combined with nickel or other metals as an alloy in surgical items. In contrast to titanium, nickel is a fairly common sensitizer, as is chromium. Therefore, I would contact the manufacturer of the titanium clips in your patient as to the complete content of the clips. If other metals are involved as an alloy, patch testing to those substances and to pure titanium powder (which the clip manufacturer can likely provide) would be a reasonable approach for evidence that contact sensitivity is a cause of the...reaction.'

'Allergic potential of titanium implants <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P></O:P>

Schuh A, Thomas P, Kachler W, Göske J, Wagner L, Holzwarth U, Forst R. <O:P></O:P>

Orthopädische Klinik Rummelsberg, Schwarzenbruck. Schuh-Alexander@t-online.de <O:P></O:P>

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:STOCKTICKER>AIM</ST1:STOCKTICKER>: The aim of this investigation is to evaluate the allergic potential of titanium and titanium alloys for surgical implant applications. MATERIALS <ST1:STOCKTICKER>AND</ST1:STOCKTICKER> METHODS: Discs cut from rods supplied by five different titanium suppliers in several diameters were investigated. The samples were cp-Titanium as well as Ti6Al4 V and Ti6Al7Nb, 6 mm thick with a diameter of between 6 and 60 mm. The material was checked by optical spectral analysis. RESULTS: In all samples except iodidtitanium, a Nickel content of 0.012-0,034 wt% could be detected. CONCLUSION: The low nickel content in the implant material results from the production process. The nickel atoms are in solid solution in the titanium lattice. Nickel allergic patients may develop hypersensitivity reactions even due to this low nickel content. Hence, this reaction may be falsely attributed to the titanium material itself. Measurements of ion concentration in the body are helpful for quantifying the maximum content of nickel in titanium materials for surgical implant applications. In addition, technical questions related to the production of nickel free titanium materials for allergic patients have to be solved. ' "<O:P></O:P><!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

I found an abstract about titanium allergy on a surgical board, it is very interesting and brings up a good point, TRUE titanium allergy is beyond rare, those who are "allergic" to it usually end up being allergic to the tiny bit of nickel mixed with the titanium in the device or implant they have. I have no idea if ANY nickel is used in the port or not (even a tiny percentage could cause a problem in someone with a metal allergy). That would be a good question for Allergan.<o:p></o:p><!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

(emphasis my own)

That would make a lot more sense.