Just heard (ok it was tiktok) two stories about birth control implants getting lost in the body. One was a Mirena Coil and one an arm implant. Both lost in the body and they couldn’t be found at the doctor’s. The nurses in the story were not too concerned and just said they’re now somewhere in the abdominal cavity. How can an object randomly travel in the body and why is it not a medical concern?
In: Biology
These aren’t ELI5 but rarely it does happen. It perforates through the uterus, which heals, and either doesn’t cause symptoms or the symptoms are dismissed.
Not all people with IUDs are told to regularly check the strings, and even those counselled to do so may not check. Not everyone can reach for one thing. In theory a doctor would check during a Pap smear but doctors may not be aware of the IUD and current recommendations are lengthening the time between Pap smears from one year to 3-5 years or longer depending on age and location.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3377742/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8918466/
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