Mother's shock after 'lost' contraceptive implant ended up in her LUNGS - and doctors fear removing it could kill her

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 should be.

'I started to cry with worry,' she said. 

'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.'

Ms Hardy shared on TikTok that she got the implant in 2018 and was set to get it out in 2022 three years later, as pictured on her implant card (left). She was sent for a chest X-ray to locate it on July 7, 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. She posted her CT scan on TikTok which shows the implant in her lung (right)

She was sent for a chest X-ray to locate it on July 7, but she claims she didn't get her results until she was booked into a face-to-face appointment in February 2022.

She also says doctors told her the implant had travelled to her pulmonary artery and warned of the potential dangers posed by trying to remove it.

Ms Hardy said: '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 says the implant has 'come to rest in a branch of the pulmonary artery' of her left lung.

It adds that 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 she was 'extremely unfortunate'. 

Ms Hardy has recently shared her story to TikTok, where the clip has so far gained more than 1.2million 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.'

Ms Hardy also shared her story to TikTok, where the clip has so far gained more than 1.2 million views

In the second picture, she shows a series of letters about her CT scans and X-rays, revealing that they had found it in her artery.

She also posted the X-ray image, showing the implant lodged in her chest. 

Ms Hardy said: 'Now after nearly seven years it's still there as it's too dangerous to be removed.'

While she is trying to move on, Ms Hardy 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.'

While she is trying to move on, Ms Hardy has been left feeling upset by the situation and its lasting effects

A spokesperson for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said: '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.'

Although it is very rare for implants to go missing, several cases have recorded it is possible for the implant to reach the lungs, as in Ms Hardy's case. 

The first reported case of 'intravascular migration of implants' was in 2014.

There have been 11 further cases reported, according to a 2021 report published by the British Institute of Radiology. 

The report suggested deep insertion, insertion near the mobile joint space and patients with low BMI are most at risk of 'migration'. 

However, the manufacturer updated its advice for the insertions of the implant in 2020.

It explored the anatomy of the arm to identify an insertion site with the lowest number of vascular structures to reduce the risk of migration.