On July 20, 2019, a rare case was reported in the BMJ Journals where a 31-year-old Portuguese woman had to undergo surgery to remove a contraceptive implant from her lung.
The woman had been using the implant for eight years, but it was supposed to be placed in her upper arm, not her lung. According to the report, the implant is usually expected to stay in the arm for three years, but in some rare cases, it can move due to factors such as being placed too deep into the arm or being subjected to vigorous exercises immediately after insertion.
When the woman started experiencing an abnormal period that lasted three months, doctors discovered the implant in her chest, at the bottom of her left lung. Luckily, the implant's migration did not affect the woman, and she was discharged from the hospital just four days after surgery.
According to gynaecologist Dr Tania Adib, women should regularly check their implants to ensure they are in the correct position and should also ensure that they are placed by a trained professional.
