How a Woman's Birth Control Implant Ended Up in Her Lung
A woman's birth control implant that went missing from its proper place in her arm turned up in her lung, according to a new report of the case.
The 31-year-old woman, who lives in Portugal, had a birth control implant inserted into her upper arm in 2017, according to the report, published July 9 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.
This small, rod-shaped device is placed under the skin and releases a steady dose of hormones into the bloodstream to prevent pregnancy. The device lasts up to five years, after which it needs to be replaced, according to Planned Parenthood.
The woman had previously used birth control implants without any problems — she'd received her first device in 2010 and a replacement in 2013. But with her most recent implant, she started to experience abnormal vaginal bleeding. Because of this, doctors planned to remove the implant; but when they tried to find the device in her arm, they realized it wasn't where it should have been, the report said.
An X-ray revealed that the implant had traveled from the woman's arm into her left lung. ...