I am considering a procedure to have a device put inside me, a disc replacement and am trying to find a place

that will do the Melisa Test to test for Metal Allergies before I go through on the procedure.

 

I am in Chiang Mai and have emailed a number of hospitals and a couple private clinics and they all say they do not do this test, nor do they know who does it and many act like they don't even know what it is.

 

I would travel to Bangkok as well, but so far have not seen anyone there either that does it.

 

Anyone?

Krey 

 

This test is not commonly undertaken and you will probably not easily find anywhere in Thailand where it is done. You might find someone who will undertake skin testing but make sure they are based in a large and reputable hospital. 

 

You also need to know exactly what the devise is made of - what kind of metal. Also, there are non-metallic components e.g. Rubber polyethylene.  Once you know that you can ask at the Sripat derm clinic if they are able to do skin tests for these materials. No guarantee, but Sripat is your best bet.  You are not going to find the ||MELISA test here, and indeed the places you contacted likely would not know what it is.

 

I suggest you also do your homework re pros and cons of artificial disk replacement as what I have seen is pretty mixed.  Results have been much better for the cervical than the lumbar spine, in fact for lumbar spine it has so far not proven very advisable. Even in the cervical spine, results will not be much different from a fusion if just one level is involved and pain relief will be about the same even for multiple levels - the main advantage is preserving more range of motion but this comes into play mainly if it would otherwise be fusion at multiple levels.

 

Much increased cost for the artificial disk replacement vs conventional fusion.

 

i assume you have already determined conservative approach (non-surgical) is not appropriate/doesn't work. Have you also determined  that less invasive procedures aren't an option? (disectomy, foraminotomy etc)?

 

There are a lot of different surgical options so getting several opinions is strongly advised.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

You also need to know exactly what the devise is made of - what kind of metal. Also, there are non-metallic components e.g. Rubber polyethylene.  Once you know that you can ask at the Sripat derm clinic if they are able to do skin tests for these materials. No guarantee, but Sripat is your best bet.  You are not going to find the ||MELISA test here, and indeed the places you contacted likely would not know what it is.

 

I suggest you also do your homework re pros and cons of artificial disk replacement as what I have seen is pretty mixed.  Results have been much better for the cervical than the lumbar spine, in fact for lumbar spine it has so far not proven very advisable. Even in the cervical spine, results will not be much different from a fusion if just one level is involved and pain relief will be about the same even for multiple levels - the main advantage is preserving more range of motion but this comes into play mainly if it would otherwise be fusion at multiple levels.

 

Much increased cost for the artificial disk replacement vs conventional fusion.

 

i assume you have already determined conservative approach (non-surgical) is not appropriate/doesn't work. Have you also determined  that less invasive procedures aren't an option? (disectomy, foraminotomy etc)?

 

There are a lot of different surgical options so getting several opinions is strongly advised.

 

 

 

Thanks Sheryl

Yes I have researched this for the last 13 years and have done everything to try to resolve my issues and my two options now are fusion and ADR.  Fusion doctors say I need a few more years to get the procedure done unless I walk in one day screaming in pain.  Fusion is the standards but from my research it isnt that great either, lost of a lot of mobility and stress on the healthy discs that now take the load.  I put in a lot of ADR research and am considering one of the top doctors in Spain.  I would not be doing this unless I thought all options were pretty much out.  I will look into the Sripat derm clinic as from what I see now most of the hospitals are saying no.  If it comes down to it i am heading back to the west next month, I was just considering getting the procedure beforehand and not after. 

Thanks!

To be clear, Sripat will not be able to do Melisa. They may be able to do skin testing with the relevant metal and rubber.