The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 48, 643-645, Copyright © 1989 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Safety of metallic surgical clips in patients undergoing high-field- strength magnetic resonance imaging
JP Gold, W Pulsinelli, P Winchester, PW Brill, M Jacewicz and OW Isom
Department of Surgery, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, New York 10021.
Use of metallic clips with ferromagnetic properties in patients undergoing
a large variety of surgical procedures, and in particular, in coronary
artery and other vascular reconstructions, has become increasingly popular.
The safety of these commonly used surgical clips when subjected to
high-intensity diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging fields is still
debated. Commonly used hemostatic metallic clips manufactured by the Weck
and US Surgical Corporations were tested in an in vitro system to assess
their safety with regard to migration and displacement. The two tested
hemostatic metallic clips proved safe and did not migrate or become
dislodged when they underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans. This is in
direct contrast to multiple cerebral aneurysm clips, also tested, which
have highly ferromagnetic properties and were previously shown to migrate
with disastrous results in patients undergoing diagnostic magnetic
resonance imaging scans. This study supports the continued widespread use
of small metallic hemostatic clips in the myriad of procedures in which
they are presently used and illustrates the need for methods of evaluating
such devices before they are clinically implanted.