Shoulder implants contain titanium and cobalt-chrome but rarely trigger airport metal detectors on their own because the metal mass is small. You'll likely set one off only if you have other implants or metal on you. TSA medical cards won't get you through, so expect standard screening.
What is a shoulder replacement made of, and will I set off a metal detector when I go through the airport? This is one of the most common questions I get when somebody's having a shoulder replacement. Well, typically what a shoulder replacement's made of is a combination of titanium in terms of the metal, and then cobalt chrome. It's the ball on the reverse shoulder replacement and on the anatomic side that are made of cobalt chrome, and this has nickel in it. The stem itself is typically made of titanium, and then in between there's a plastic liner. Now, in terms of the question of will I set off a metal detector, you can see this is about a life-size piece, and overall the amount of metal is pretty small. So it's uncommon that somebody actually sets off a metal detector, but it depends on the overall amount of metal that you have in the body. So if you have metal other place like your belt, etc., or if you have additional metal in your body from either breaking a bone or having a replacement in other areas, you may indeed set off a metal detector. But there's no value in carrying cards because TSA does not recognize those, so it's simply additional screening and you'll fly through and get to the destination you're hoping to go to.
