Mother's shock after 'lost' contraceptive implant ended up in her LUNGS - and ... trends now
A mother-of-two was horrified after discovering her 'lost' contraceptive implant ended up in her lungs.
Rebecca Hardy, from Nottinghamshire, went to get the matchstick-sized implant removed because she'd had it inside her left arm for three years.
But the 29-year-old's doctor and numerous other medics couldn't locate it.
When they eventually found the device, it was in one of her pulmonary arteries – critical blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs.
Ms Hardy says doctors have warned her of the potential dangers of removing the implant, with them fearing it could tear an artery if taken out. As such, she claims they have decided to leave it where it is.
Rebecca Hardy, 29, from Nottinghamshire, went to get her Nexplanon contraceptive implant out after having it in for the maximum amount of time (three years), but doctors could not find it
She said: 'I was given the option to try and attempt removal but was advised it's a very dangerous procedure.
'There isn't a 100 per cent chance of it going right, or it even being possible for it to be removed. Plus, it could make things worse for myself and tear my artery.
'Because I had no signs of problems or difficulty over the years, I agreed to leave it where it is and not take any risk as it's a big procedure.
'I have two children to think about.'
Ms Hardy is not the only women whose contraceptive implant migrated.
In 2019, a 31-year-old in Portugal also needed her implant removed from her lungs.
Doctors couldn't feel the device, which can usually be noticed as a small hard rod in the upper arm, so did scans on which it showed up inside her chest.
In their report they suggested the device could have shifted out of place in the arm – where it is supposed to remain for three years to release hormones – and into veins and arteries.
When doctors located the implant following a CT scan, it was in one of her pulmonary arteries - blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs
Before Covid struck, UK health chiefs even issued guidance on the back of growing reports of Nexplanon – the same implant Ms Hardy had – ending up in arteries.
Ms Hardy, who shared her story on TikTok, recalled being worried about the device following its insertion into her upper arm back in 2018.
'I could never feel it in my left arm,' Ms Hardy, who has two children Lexxie, six, and Dexter, seven, said.
'I rang up the clinic the next day after having it fitted to say I couldn't feel it in my arm, and they told me to wait and call back if I still continued to not feel it.'
She visited the clinic later that month for a check-up, and claims she was told not to worry and that it was 'just a deep implant'.
Ms Hardy (right) who is mum to Lexxie, six (left), and Dexter, seven (centre) said she didn't want to risk the surgery to get it removed
Ms Hardy added: 'It just got left, but over the years I continued to worry and worry about it.'
Nexplanon is a of contraceptive implant that helps prevent pregnancy by gradually releasing progestogen into the body.
Progestogen stops the ovaries releasing an egg each month and the implant is 99 per cent effective in stopping pregnancy, studies suggest.
The plastic device is about 4cm long and is inserted under the skin in the arm and can stay there for up to three years, according to the NHS.
Ms Hardy said she vividly recalled her sense of fear and worry in March 2021, when it became clear the implant was not where it
