Implanon: Lost in Body?

I am deliberating so much to deliver this relatively not-so-good news. However, since I shared my views on Implanon before, I felt a little bit obligated to share this with you, who had once read my posts earlier.

Hubs was browsing through The Sun Online, a habit he developed while studying in the UK when he came across this disturbing news.

Women told: Contraceptive implants lost in your body
- Health scare for hundreds of patients
- Baby hopes dashed for budding mums

POPULAR contraceptive implants are feared to have gone MISSING in the bodies of hundreds of women, The Sun can reveal.

Older women affected can find they are robbed of the option of getting pregnant by having their implants removed while still of child-bearing age.

The Implanon devices, small rods placed under the skin, are used in their thousands and have been the NHS’s top choice for under 20s and over 30s for five years.

They provide protection against pregnancy for three years but can work for up to five years.

Implanon’s US manufacturer Merck/Organon says a layer of tissue forms around them soon after implantation, keeping them in place.

But while experts say it is unlikely, many women have “lost” implants after they moved inside their bodies.

The implant is inserted in fat inside the upper left arm, where it secretes man-made chemicals that prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg.

Some implants travel just a few centimetres up or down the arm. But others move further and become hidden in bodily tissue. They still remain active and are made of a biodegradable plastic which will not show on X-rays.

Patients, nurses and family planning clinics all encounter the problem.

It is common practice to leave the implant in the body, because surgery to find and remove it can cause discomfort and tissue damage. This approach poses few problems for younger women with years of potential fertility left.

But those in their mid to late 30s could be missing out on their last chance to become a mother.

In a cruel twist of fate, older women are told to have the implant, because their fertility returns faster when it is removed than it does for those who come off the Pill.

One case known to The Sun has brought heartache to travel consultant Nici Davies, 37.

She asked to have her Implanon device removed — but so far doctors cannot find it in her body.

It could remain active until she is 40, thwarting her plans to have children.

Nici, who lives with partner Alex Billings in Enfield, North London, said: “I’d like the choice to have kids but feel it has been taken away.

“Why do they push implants for older women if they know this can happen?”

Lynn Hearton, information services manger at the Family Planning Association, said: “It’s highly unlikely that implants migrate around the body. But very occasionally they’re fitted too deeply. There are specially-trained doctors who can take them out. Women who’ve got an implant can be easily reassured it’s in place by feeling it under the skin. If they can’t, they should get it checked out or phone us for advice.”

NHS clinics switched in 2010 to Nexplanon implants, also made by Merck, as these show up under X-rays.

A medical spokeswoman for the firm said: “A woman can request the removal of her implant at any time but it must be removed no later than three years from the date of insertion.

“On the rare occasion the implant can’t be located, there is a process for the healthcare professional to follow and they can contact the manufacturer.

“The implant should always be inserted and removed by an appropriately-trained healthcare professional.”

Nici's case

NICI Davies was offered an implant in 2010 after telling her doctor she needed a reliable contraceptive but wanted to have children within a few years.

She was told it could be easily removed. And this April she asked for it to be done.

But the implant could not be found. A second doctor and a gynaecological consultant had no better luck. She is now waiting for a scan but has been warned the implant may never be found.

Nici, 37, said: “The implant can last five years. I am left with no chance of having children.” ¹

My advice is, if you already had Implanon implanted, do check your underarms whether it is still ‘there’ or went missing. If it's there, continue to monitor the location of the implant. It it's not there, please consult your gynaecologist.

If you are thinking of getting it, please seek a properly and medically trained person to insert the implant in your arm. Better yet, get a specialist who really know what he/she was doing in order for the implant to work properly and didn’t get lost in your body.

Reference:

¹ Little, E., Women told: Contraceptive implants lost in your body, The Sun, Woman, Real Life, 2012, retrieved 19 September 2012, <www.thesun.co.uk>



Cik Atun: Scary but I trust my gynaecologist.