'Wandering' contraceptive implant travels to woman's lung in rare case

When you buy through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it go .

In an extremely rarefied guinea pig , a cleaning lady ’s antifertility implant migrated from her upper sleeve to her left lung .

The woman , who ’s found in the U.K. and in her 30 , consulted doctors after notice that she could n’t feel the implant underneath the skin of her left-hand branch where it had been inserted six years prior . ( These implant typically work for three years before needing to be swapped out . )

A CT scan of a woman�s chest showing an implant near her lung

A CT scan showing where the implant migrated in the woman’s lower left lung, pointed out by the blue arrow.

After discussing the patients ' medical history with her and conducting a series of imaging tests , medico divulge that she could n’t feel the implant because her original procedure was n’t performed correctly . As such , the implant became dislodge around a hebdomad after its insertion and then move from the tissue beneath the peel into aveinin the woman ’s upper arm . From there , it made its path to herheart , before being carried via an artery to her lower leftlung — where it was eventually revealed in medical scans .

The doctors described the grammatical case in a report published Jan. 30 in the journalBMJ Case Reports .

relate : A char would pass out whenever she test to stand . New implant lets her walk .

A gloved hand holds up a small rod-shaped implant

On exceptionally rare occasions, contraceptive implants designed to be in the upper arm (like the one pictured above) can migrate to other parts of the body.

Contraceptive implants are amongthe most good types of two-sided contraceptive method . Users have a0.05 % chance of unplanned pregnancyduring the first year of have the implant , if it ’s plant correctly . The implant themselves are small plastic rods , commonly around 1.6 inches ( 4 centimetre ) long , that are placed underneath the skin of the upper sleeve .

( Contraceptive implants are different fromintrauterine devices(IUDs ) , although these are both forms of long - play reversible contraception that are put inside the dead body . )

The only contraceptive implant currently availablein the U.K.and the U.S.is called Nexplanon .

a photo of an eye looking through a keyhole

This implant releases a slow , steady dosage of progestin — a synthetic version of the internal secretion progesterone — which prevents maternity in numerous ways . For example , progestin blocks ovulation , meaning the steady release of an egg from the ovaries into the fallopian tubes during the menstrual cycle .

Nexplanon provide effective contraceptionfor up to three yearsbefore the hormones within it run out and the gadget has to be removed . user can then get a new implant put in .

In very rarified cases , Nexplanon implant can migrate from the upper sleeve to other parts of the body , such as the shoulder joint , chest of drawers wall or arterial blood vessel in the lung . A study published in 2017 found that38 cases of implant migrationhad been report to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2006 and 2015 . For circumstance , a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention account in 2023 find that some 1 in 4 char aged between 15 and 49 in the U.S.have report ever using either contraceptive implant or intrauterine machine .

a tiger looks through a large animal�s ribcage

An implant may be more likely to transmigrate for several reason , such not being inserted in the correct stead . This is what in all probability find to the womanhood in the U.K. , her Dr. wrote .

— Breast implant saved a man ’s lifespan during a lung transplant . Here ’s how .

— 4D implant make unnecessary baby with breathing problem

a photo of burgers and fries next to vegetables

— Neuralink Saratoga chip implant into human brain for the 1st clip , Elon Musk says

Other risk constituent for implant migration include insert the implanttoo deeply into the tissue in the arm or into a patient with very thin arms . If an implant defecate it to the lung , it cancause various symptom , such as a coughing — which can be crashing — shortness of breathing place or chest painfulness . If the roving implant is still active , then patient may call for surgery to avoid potential side force such asinfertility and menstruation issues , the case report source noted .

In this cause , the woman had n’t experienced any of these symptoms . physician also noted that the mobile implant had not budge after a follow - up consultation six months subsequently . As the implant was no longer releasing progestin , the cleaning woman therefore choose not to have surgery to get rid of it .

An artist�s illustration of a satellite crashing back to Earth.