Metal allergy to stainless steel wire after coronary artery bypass grafting.

To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a manganese metal allergy to stainless steel wire. A 51-year-old man suffered from a refractory pruritic erythematous wheal after the insertion of a stainless steel wire. The patch test showed strong reactions to manganese, one of the constituents of stainless steel wire. After the removal of all stainless steel wires, the symptoms were much improved, except for mild pruritus on his face.