Episodes

What happens when the surgical clips, staples, or biopsy markers left inside your body are making you sick? And what if you've been told they can't be removed? In this groundbreaking episode of Heavily Metalled, we welcome Dr. Frederick Tiesenga of Tiesenga Surgical Associates in Elmwood Park, Illinois. With a background in general and bariatric surgery and training in robotic surgical techniques, Dr. Tiesenga is one of only a handful of surgeons in the country pioneering the removal of surgi...

After a devastating accident cost Nikita her eye and left her facing extensive facial reconstruction, she thought surgery would be the beginning of her recovery.Instead, it became the beginning of another nightmare. Surgeons used metal implants and surgical clips to reconstruct her face and jaw. But when Nikita began experiencing reactions she believed were connected to the implanted metal, the very materials intended to help restore her life became another source of suffering. An at-home ...

In this episode of Heavily Metalled, I sit down with Fort Worth neurosurgeon Dr. Gregory Smith, DO for an important conversation about spinal hardware, metal hypersensitivity, and what happens when implanted hardware may be contributing to a patient’s symptoms. Dr. Smith has removed spinal hardware for me personally, as well as for many other patients, and he takes metal allergy testing seriously when evaluating these complex cases. We discuss LTT blood testing, the role it can play alongside a ...