A lawmaker from Alaska has returned home by boat after apparently being subjected to a pat down search by TSA officials having already passed through a full body scanner at Seattle International Airport. According to a spokesman for Representative Sharon Cissna, she left the airport and travelled back to Juneau by ferry.

According to Michelle Scannell, her chief of staff, Ms Cissna was required to undergo further examination after the scan revealed she had a mastectomy. So far, neither the law maker’s office, nor the Transportation Safety Administration, has said why she was subjected to an additional search.

According to reports, US intelligence suspects that terrorists could use prosthetics to hide explosive devices. Although the TSA says it welcomes feedback from airline passengers who feel they are not satisfied with the association’s screening methods, many have complained about the invasiveness of the procedures.

Last year, Politics Daily contributor and journalism instructor Sandra Fish complained that she had been subjected to a double search at Denver International Airport. She said that having passed through a scanner she explained that she had an implant and was then subjected to an additional pat down by a TSA official.

Cathy Bossi, a flight attendant who has survived breast cancer, said that TSA staff had asked her to remove her prosthetic breast before she would be allowed to proceed. She said she admitted to having a prosthetic breast after an official put her hand on it. Saying that it was there because she had breast cancer, the official apparently demanded to see it.