Background: Advancements in airport screening measures in response to 9/11 have resulted in increased false alarm rates for patients with orthopedic and metal implants. With the implementation of millimeter-wave scanning technology, it is important to assess the changes in airport screening experiences of patients who underwent total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). Methods: Here, 197 patients with prior anatomic and reverse TSA completed between 2013 and 2020 responded to a questionnaire regarding their experiences with airport travel screening after their operation. Of these patients, 86 (44%) stated that they had traveled by plane, while 111 (56%) had not. The questionnaire addressed several measures including the number of domestic and international flights following the operation, number of false alarm screenings by the millimeter-wave scanner, patient body habitus, and presence of additional metal implants. Results: A total of 53 patients (62%) responded “yes” to false screening alarms due to shoulder arthroplasty. The odds of a false screening alarm for patients with other metal implants was 5.87 times that of a false screening alarm for patients with no other metal implants (P<0.1). Of a reported 662 flights, 303 (45.8%) resulted in false screening alarms. Greater body mass index was not significantly lower in patients who experienced false screening alarms (P=0.30). Conclusions Patients with anatomic and reverse TSA trigger false alarms with millimeter-wave scanners during airport screening at rates consistent with prior reports following 9/11. Patient education on the possibility of false alarms during airport screening is important until improvements in implant identification are made.Level of evidence: IV.

Objective: Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are commonly treated with endovascular embolization. Due to the rapid evolution of endovascular technology and lack of consistent practice guidelines regarding AVM embolization, further study of AVM embolization outcomes is warranted. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of AVMs embolized at a single center from 2002-2019. Patient demographics, AVM characteristics, intention of embolization, and angiographic and clinical outcome after embolization were recorded. We compared the embolization results of those treated with n-butyl cyanoacrylate (n-BCA) and Onyx. Results: Over an 18-year period at our institution, 30 (33%) of 92 AVMs were treated with embolization. n-BCA was used in 12 cases and Onyx in 18 cases. Eighty-seven pedicles were embolized over 47 embolization sessions. Fifty percent of AVMs treated with n-BCA underwent more than one embolization session compared to 22% when Onyx was used. The median total percent volume reduction in the n-BCA AVMs was 52% compared to 51% in Onyx AVMs. There were 2 periprocedural complications in the n-BCA cohort and none in the Onyx cohort. Conclusions In this small retrospective series, Onyx and n-BCA achieved similar occlusion results, although n-BCA required more sessions and pedicles embolized to do so.