A woman has revealed her shock after doctors found her contraceptive implant had travelled to one of her pulmonary arteries – and it can’t be removed.
Rebecca Hardy, from Nottinghamshire, went to get her contraceptive implant out after having it in for the maximum amount of time (three years).
The 29-year-old thought everything would go smoothly, but was horrified when her doctor couldn’t locate it – with numerous other medics also struggling to find the implant.
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When they eventually did, it was in one of her pulmonary arteries – blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs.
Before going to the doctor, Rebecca had some concerns after having the Nexplanon implant in her upper arm in March 2018.
“I could never feel it in my left arm, Rebecca, who is mum to Lexxie, six, and Dexter, seven, told Need To Know.
“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”.
Rebecca added: “It just got left, but over the years I have continued to worry and worry about it.”
But by the time she went to get it removed in March 2021, it was clear the implant was not where it should be.
The mum said: “I started to cry with worry.
“Not only was I panicking, but then I had to wait weeks for the CT scan and X-rays, and then even longer for the results.
“I didn’t find out until a year later where my implant was.”
She was sent for a chest X-ray to locate it on 7 July, but claims that after months of waiting, she didn’t get her results until she was booked into a face-to-face appointment at the Radiology Department of Queen’s Medical Centre on 4 February 2022.
There, they told her the implant had travelled to her pulmonary artery and warned of the potential dangers posed by trying to remove it.
She said: “I was given the option to try and attempt removal but was advised it’s a very dangerous procedure as there wasn’t a 100% 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 had 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.
“On the pregnancy side of things, I have been told I will still be able to conceive but it might be roughly eight years for the hormones to fully finish.
“I have been offered support if I ever want to try for more children.”
A letter from her doctor confirms the implant has “come to rest in a branch of the pulmonary artery” of her left lung.
The letter continues on to say it is likely that at the time of insertion or shortly afterwards, the implant passed through her blood vessels, through the right side of her heart, and into the artery.
The doctor calls it an “extremely rare but recognised complications with the implant fit” and says it was “extremely unfortunate”.
Rebecca also shared her story to TikTok, where the clip has so far garnered over 1.2 million views.
In the clip, she attaches three pictures, the first being of a card from the clinic saying when to have her implant out.
She writes over the top: “I had the implant in 2018, and was due to come out in 2021, but they couldn’t find it!”
In the second picture, she reveals a series of letters about her CT scans and X-rays, revealing that they had found it in her artery.
In the last picture, she posts the X-ray image, showing the implant lodged in the middle of her body, saying: “Now after nearly seven years it’s still there as it’s too dangerous to be removed.”
While she is trying to move on, Rebecca has been left feeling upset by the situation and its lasting effects.
She said: “I currently feel very depressed from the whole situation over the years and knowing it’s inside me forever.
“I’m emotionally broken thinking it will take a long time for me to fall pregnant again but I’m just trying to think positively.”
A spokesperson for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust told Jam Press: “We have offered Ms Hardy an appointment to enable us to advise on her ongoing assessment and treatment as required.
“Unfortunately, implant migration is a known, rare complication (1 in 1.3 million); the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (NHRA) issued a safety alert about the risk in 2016.”
