Quick answer
Medical implants are devices placed inside the body and left there — pacemakers, stents, replacement joints, plates and screws, cochlear implants, shunts, mesh, ports. Medical devices also include things worn or attached, like an insulin pump or a glucose monitor. If a form asks whether you have any, the answer is worth checking carefully: people routinely forget joints, plates, stents and dental implants.
Being asked “do you have any implants or devices?” is one of those questions that sounds simple and is not. Plenty of people say no and then remember the knee replacement, or the plate in an ankle broken years ago.
It matters because these change what can safely be done to you — in imaging, in surgery and in an emergency.
What counts as a medical implant
An implant is placed inside the body during a procedure and stays there, either permanently or until it is removed.
- Heart and vascular — pacemaker, implantable defibrillator, stents, replacement heart valves, grafts
- Orthopaedic — hip and knee replacements, plates, screws, rods, spinal fusion hardware
- Neurological — shunts, deep brain stimulators, nerve stimulators
- Sensory — cochlear implants, intraocular lenses after cataract surgery
- Other — surgical mesh, breast implants, chemotherapy ports, contraceptive implants and IUDs, dental implants
What counts as a medical device you wear or use
The term “medical device” is broader in regulation than in everyday speech — it covers a huge range of products. For your own records, the ones worth listing are the ones attached to you or essential to your daily management.
- Insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors
- Hearing aids
- Home oxygen and CPAP machines
- Prosthetic limbs and orthoses
- Catheters, stomas and feeding tubes
- Wearable cardiac monitors
The ones people forget
Worth checking before you answer “no”
- Plates, screws or pins from a fracture, however long ago
- A joint replacement you have stopped thinking about
- Coronary stents
- Dental implants
- Intraocular lenses from cataract surgery
- An IUD or contraceptive implant
- Surgical mesh from a hernia or prolapse repair
Why it matters — and this is the part worth reading
Imaging
MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, so some implants require particular precautions and some are unsuitable. Many modern devices are made to be MRI-safe under defined conditions, but that determination depends on the exact device and settings — which is precisely why staff ask, and why knowing the make and model, not just “a pacemaker”, is genuinely useful. Never guess on your own behalf; tell them what you have and let them check.
Emergencies and resuscitation
An implanted pacemaker or defibrillator affects how defibrillation pads are placed — they are positioned so as not to sit directly over the device. A responder can sometimes feel the box under the skin, but not always, and not quickly. See how to use a defibrillator.
Surgery, infection and medicines
Implants influence surgical planning, some carry infection considerations, and heart valve or vascular hardware often comes with anticoagulation — which changes how any bleed or head injury is managed. See severe bleeding first aid.
Security screening is the low-stakes version of the same problem. Metal implants may set off airport detectors. It is not a medical risk, but carrying documentation makes the conversation shorter.
What to record about each one
| Record | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| What it is, in plain words | “Pacemaker” is the minimum useful entry |
| Make and model, if you have it | Determines MRI conditions and device settings |
| When and where it was implanted | Lets the hospital retrieve the operation record |
| Which side or which limb | Avoids confusion and wrong-site assumptions |
| Where a worn device sits | So a pump or monitor is not found by accident |
| The treating specialist or clinic | A route to the full record |
Where to find the details
- Your implant card. For many permanently implantable devices, patients are given a card carrying the device details — keep it, and photograph it.
- The hospital or surgeon that performed the procedure holds the operation record.
- Your GP may have the discharge summary and correspondence.
- Device registries exist for some categories in Australia, such as joint replacements.
- The Therapeutic Goods Administration regulates medical devices in Australia and publishes safety information and recalls.
An implant is invisible until someone is told about it.
A MedibandPlus profile stores your implants and devices — what, when, which side, and the model — alongside your medications and allergies, readable in an emergency.
See how MedibandPlus worksPart of the Mediband family. Designed in Australia since 2004.
Children, and devices that change
Implants and devices in children need re-checking more often than adults’, because they get revised, resized or replaced as the child grows. A cochlear implant processor, a shunt or orthopaedic hardware may not be the same item it was two years ago, and the record should say what is there now rather than what was originally fitted.
The same applies to anything with a battery or a service interval — pacemakers and stimulators are checked and eventually replaced. If your record still lists the device implanted a decade ago, it is describing something that may no longer be in you.
Recalls and safety notices
Devices are occasionally subject to safety notices or recalls. Being contactable matters: keep your contact details current with the implanting clinic, and keep your own note of the device so you can check whether a notice applies to you rather than guessing from a news headline.
Implants in an emergency profile
When paramedics hand a patient over, background history is one of the three fields they cannot observe — and implants sit squarely in it. A responder can see a scar but not what is under it. Recording your devices is part of the same job as recording your medications and allergies. See what emergency responders look for and what to include in medical records.
Related reading: what to record for chronic conditions and what to put on a medical wristband. To store your implant and device details, create your emergency profile.
FAQs
What counts as a medical implant?
Anything placed inside the body during a procedure and left there, permanently or until removed. That includes pacemakers and defibrillators, stents, replacement heart valves, hip and knee replacements, plates, screws and rods, shunts and nerve stimulators, cochlear implants, intraocular lenses, surgical mesh, breast implants, chemotherapy ports, contraceptive implants and IUDs, and dental implants.
What counts as a medical device rather than an implant?
For your own records, the devices worth listing are the ones attached to you or essential to daily management: insulin pumps and glucose monitors, hearing aids, home oxygen and CPAP machines, prosthetic limbs and orthoses, catheters, stomas and feeding tubes, and wearable cardiac monitors. In regulation the term is much broader, but those are the ones that matter clinically.
Which implants do people most often forget?
Plates, screws or pins from an old fracture, a joint replacement they have stopped thinking about, coronary stents, dental implants, intraocular lenses from cataract surgery, an IUD or contraceptive implant, and surgical mesh from a hernia or prolapse repair. It is worth checking these before answering no on a form.
Why do they ask about implants before an MRI?
Because MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, so some implants need particular precautions and some are unsuitable. Many modern devices are designed to be MRI-safe under defined conditions, but that depends on the exact device and settings, which is why knowing the make and model rather than just the category is genuinely useful. Tell them what you have and let them check.
Does a pacemaker affect using a defibrillator?
It affects where the pads go, since they are positioned so as not to sit directly over the implanted device. A responder can sometimes feel the box under the skin but not always, and not quickly, which is why recording it and wearing something that says so is useful.
What should I record about an implant?
What it is in plain words, the make and model if you have it, when and where it was implanted, which side or limb, where a worn device sits on your body, and the treating specialist or clinic. The make and model matter for imaging decisions; the date and hospital let staff retrieve the operation record.
Where do I find my implant details?
Start with your implant card, which patients are given for many permanently implantable devices — keep it and photograph it. The hospital or surgeon who performed the procedure holds the operation record, your GP may have the discharge summary, and some categories such as joint replacements have Australian registries. The TGA publishes device safety information and recalls.
Sources
- Therapeutic Goods Administration — Medical devices — regulation, safety information and recalls.
- Department of Health — Medical devices — how devices are regulated in Australia.
- healthdirect — Pacemakers — what a pacemaker does and living with one.
- ACSQHC — NSQHS Standards — the safety standards Australian hospitals work to.
- healthdirect — Emergencies — recognising an emergency and getting help.
Disclaimer: This article is general information about recording implants and devices, not medical advice. Whether any particular implant is compatible with a scan or procedure is a clinical decision that depends on the exact device — always tell the treating team what you have rather than deciding yourself. In an emergency, always call Triple Zero (000). For non-urgent health advice, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (NURSE-ON-CALL 1300 60 60 24 in Victoria, 13 HEALTH 13 43 25 84 in Queensland).
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