The Case That Changed a Surgeon’s Path
A Life Stopped Without Warning
For five and a half years, Dana lived through cycles of paralysis that would last on average ten hours per day. During these episodes, he was fully conscious but rigid and unable to speak. When movement returned, he appeared otherwise normal until the next attack began.
Searching for a Cause
Dana pursued answers through multiple major medical centers, including Mayo Clinic in Rochester and the University of Washington. Despite extensive testing, doctors could not determine a cause.
At Mayo, the working diagnosis became stiff-person syndrome, later refined to episodic rigid quadriplegia—a description rather than an explanation. Some clinicians suggested psychosomatic origins. “They weren’t certain whether it was a convergence disorder or some cognitive disorder,” Dana said. “They just knew it presented as a stiff-person syndrome.”
Over time, more than twenty physicians offered opinions but no effective treatment. Several told him he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and eventually a convalescent home. Dana’s wife refused to accept that. “One doctor said, once you swallow that pill, you’ll be a lot happier in life,” he remembered. “But my wife wouldn’t buy that—and neither did I.”
Returning to the Source
By 2011, Dr. Schroeder had already been Dana’s Foot & Ankle Physician and Surgeon for over a decade. Dana came back years later with a different foot problem requiring surgery. He also had swelling over the site of the screws from the previous surgery. Dr. Schroeder immediately recognized something was wrong. “He and his wife came in—wonderful people—and not thinking the paralysis would be related to foot, did not mention it,” the surgeon recalled. “I saw swelling where the screws had been placed and was concerned about an allergy. The bones were already healed and I recommended removal of the screws while we were in the operating room for the other procedure.”
Testing for Metal Sensitivity
Dr. Schroeder had already been collaborating with Dr. Vera Stejskal, the Swedish immunotoxicologist who developed the MELISA (Memory Lymphocyte Immunostimulation Assay) test. He sent Dana’s blood to Germany for analysis.
The results showed an allergic reactions to nickel and a severe reaction to palladium. Nickel is a component in stainless-steel surgical alloys and Dana's white-gold dental crowns contained roughly 26 percent palladium. He also had multiple amalgam fillings.
“That was the first connection between the foot and the mouth I had seen,” Dr. Schroeder said. “He didn’t have paralysis before I put the metal in. After I put it in, he did. When I removed it, the paralysis went from ten hours down to three—but it wasn’t gone. He had his amalgams removed and then his gold crowns. The day he had his last gold crown removed he hasn’t been paralyzed since.”
Dana confirmed it plainly: “For five and a half years I was a rigid quadriplegic for half the day. The morning I went in to have my last white-gold crown removed, my wife had to use a gait belt to get me into the dentist’s chair. They removed the crown. I stood up from that chair and walked out—and I have not been paralyzed since. That was 2016.”
The Process of Elimination
The final result was freedom from paralysis—but not from lasting damage. A sural-nerve biopsy at Mayo Clinic had shown that 52 of 56 nerve sheaths in his lower extremities were empty. He continues to live with total body neuropathy, unable to feel temperature or touch, and walks with braces to prevent foot drop.
Advocacy Through Experience
After recovering movement, Dana focused on telling his story so others would not be dismissed. “For years, doctors told me it was in my head,” he said. “That’s why I speak out—so people know there could be another cause.”
He hopes his experience can help patients who face similar unexplained neurological symptoms. “Don’t let them tag you with a cognitive disorder,” he said. “Pursue it further.”
Dr. Schroeder has since identified other patients whose chronic muscle cramping and paralysis improved once their metal implants were removed. “Dana is one of three I’ve seen where removal of hardware relieved symptoms that were called stiff-person syndrome,” he noted. “Each one reinforces that we need to get this information out.”
The Broader Connection
Both doctor and patient recognize that Europe has been more proactive in studying these phenomena. “Dana is an engineer and a thinker,” said Dr. Schroeder. “He was already researching this in Europe, and they were far ahead of the United States.”
Dana agreed. “The U.K. was much more receptive to this,” he said. “In the U.S., the medical establishment doesn’t want every person with a filling coming in to sue. But that’s why I had to advocate for myself.”
Through this process, Dana became one of Dr. Schroeder’s earliest and most important cases linking metal hypersensitivity to systemic neurological symptoms, a finding that helped launch the surgeon’s continuing advocacy for implant safety and allergy testing.
Aftermath and Legacy
Although Dr. Schroeder has since retired from surgical practice, he remains committed to educating colleagues about biocompatibility testing, electrochemical interaction of dissimilar metals, and diagnostic imaging for inflammatory reactions. He credits Dana’s case as the one that started it all. “It was the first time I saw paralysis disappear after removing metal,” he said. “That changed the course of my work.”
Dana continues to live in Olympia, Washington, and still manages residual neuropathy. Yet he remains positive and active in sharing his experience. “I’m thankful for Dr. Schroeder,” he said. “He listened when no one else would.”
Together, their story stands as both medical documentation and human testimony—a clear example of what can happen when two determined people refuse to stop searching for the truth.
The Unseen Consequences of Surgical Implants
An Epilogue by Dr. Robert L. Bard
This issue is not theoretical for me. Years ago, after undergoing spinal fusion surgery, I began to study the materials placed inside my own body. Metals like titanium, nickel, cobalt, and chromium—celebrated for strength and longevity—can oxidize or shed microscopic particles. These ions circulate, triggering inflammation, autoimmunity, or neurological symptoms. For some patients, their bodies quietly wage war against the very devices meant to heal them.
Dana’s case brought this reality into focus for countless others. His experience demonstrates why preoperative biocompatibility testing should be a clinical standard, much like matching blood type before a transfusion. The MELISA test, for example, can identify sensitivity to metals and guide surgeons toward safer options. Knowing these results in advance may prevent years of unexplained suffering.
The medical industry is making progress—exploring ceramic, polymer, and coated alternatives to reduce corrosion—but vigilance remains essential. Even “biocompatible” materials can fail when placed in a reactive host. The lesson is clear: true healing requires individualized assessment, ongoing monitoring, and transparency about risks.
As a diagnostic physician, I have learned that science advances most when we listen to the patient first. Dana’s courage, and Dr. Schroeder’s willingness to question convention, have brought us closer to safer medicine. Their story reminds us that implants should never become silent sources of harm—and that every patient’s biology deserves to be understood before the first incision is made.
— Robert L. Bard, MD, PC, DABR, FASLMS
Clinical Diagnostic Imaging Specialist,
Founder, Bard Cancer Diagnostics & The AngioFoundation
Part 2
An Endocrine Perspective On Detox, Metabolic Disease, and Imaging In The MASLD Era
From a 2025 interview with Angela Mazza, DO – Integrative Endocrinology & Metabolic Medicine
THE LIVER'S ENDOCRINE FUNCTIONS
Three endocrine pathways illustrate the liver’s pivotal role in hormonal homeostasis:
1. Estrogen Metabolism and Clearance
The liver performs Phase I and Phase II biotransformation to break down and neutralize estrogens before excretion. When these pathways are impaired, estrogen metabolites may accumulate, contributing to a clinical picture often described as estrogen dominance. Symptoms may include menstrual irregularity, fibrocystic breast changes, weight gain, mood fluctuations, or amplified vasomotor symptoms in menopause. Research confirms that impaired hepatic metabolism can meaningfully influence circulating estrogen levels and symptomatic expression (Liu et al., 2021).
Approximately 60% of the body’s active thyroid hormone (T3) is generated through hepatic conversion of thyroxine (T4) (Senese et al., 2018). When the liver is inflamed, infiltrated with fat, or burdened by oxidative stress, conversion efficiency declines. Patients may present with fatigue, constipation, cold intolerance, hair changes, or metabolic slowdown—despite normal thyroid bloodwork. This disconnect illustrates that hormone activation and utilization are just as essential as hormone production.
The liver stores glycogen, releases glucose, and is a primary site of insulin signaling. Hepatic insulin resistance is often the first measurable sign of future metabolic disease. Studies show that liver fat independently predicts insulin resistance and cardiometabolic risk, even before overt diabetes emerges (Bril & Cusi, 2017). This makes the liver central—not peripheral—to endocrine-metabolic dysfunction.
Together, these pathways demonstrate why hormonal symptoms frequently reflect underlying hepatic stress.
TO BE CONTINUED IN 'THE ROAD TO LONGEVITY'
