“I Can’t Feel My Implant Anymore”: Nexplanon (Implanon NXT) Problems, Deep Insertion and Migration
Summary
The contraceptive implant is small, effective and, for most people, trouble-free. This guide is for people whose implant can no longer be felt, was put in too deep, moved, or damaged a nerve, and for those who can’t get it out when they want to try for a baby. It explains how insertion should be done, what to do if you can’t feel it, and when a problem might point to care that fell short.
Quick answer · updated November 2026
You should be able to feel both ends of your implant under the skin. If you can’t, use back-up contraception and ask for it to be located with imaging, usually ultrasound or X-ray. A deep implant should be removed by someone experienced in deep removals, not by exploratory cutting. Pain, numbness or tingling down the arm after insertion needs prompt review.
Your implant at a glance
- 1On the dayInserted just under the skin of the inner upper arm. Both ends should be felt and checked.
- 2First weeksBruising and tenderness settle. You should still be able to feel the rod.
- 3Can’t feel itUse back-up contraception. Ask for an ultrasound or X-ray to find it.
- 4RemovalA deep implant needs an experienced clinician, guided by imaging.
- 5AfterwardsOngoing numbness, pain or scarring deserves answers and a plan.
At any stage: chest pain, sudden breathlessness or coughing blood: call 000. A hot, red, swollen arm or fever: see a doctor the same day.
It was in the shower that I first noticed. I always used to run my thumb over it, the little matchstick under the skin on the inside of my left arm. One morning in March I pressed where it should have been and felt nothing. Just soft arm.
I went back to the clinic. The nurse pressed around for a minute, pinching the skin until it went white. “They sometimes sink a bit, love. It’s still working.” She didn’t send me for a scan. She didn’t tell me to use condoms in the meantime.
Eighteen months later my partner and I decided we wanted to try for a baby. I booked to have it out. The doctor felt my arm, then felt it again, then said quietly that she wasn’t comfortable cutting for something she couldn’t find.
I sat in the car park with my sleeve rolled up, pressing my arm, thinking: where has it gone?
A composite story, drawn from the experiences of many families I have worked with, combined and changed so that no one can be identified. It does not describe any individual client.
If you are reading this because you can’t feel your implant, or because removal has turned into something bigger than anyone warned you about, you are not overreacting. An implant that can’t be felt needs to be found, and an implant that is hard to remove needs the right person to remove it.
This guide is for anyone with a contraceptive implant in Australia, where the only brand is Implanon NXT (sold overseas as Nexplanon). It covers how insertion should be done, why some implants end up too deep or move, the warning signs, how deep implants should be found and removed, what your records should show, and how the law looks at it.
Why I can write this
I have been a medical negligence lawyer since 2014 and have worked on many hundreds of claims. My doctorate looked at patterns of failure in medical negligence. I am not medically qualified. The clinical facts in this article are checked against named sources, listed in the references, and I explain how I work in our editorial standards.
Start with your question
- How do you know if your implant was inserted incorrectly?
- What should I do if I can’t feel my implant?
- Can an implant move around the body?
- Who should remove a deep implant?
- I want to get pregnant but they can’t get my implant out. What now?
- When is it urgent?
- Could this be medical negligence?
How insertion should be done
The implant is a small flexible rod that slowly releases a hormone, etonogestrel, for up to three years. It is very effective: fewer than 1 in 100 people using it get pregnant. A trained doctor or nurse inserts it under local anaesthetic, just under the skin of the inner upper arm.1
Where exactly it goes matters. In 2020, following a change to the product information, Australian sexual health services updated their advice on placement. The implant is now inserted over the back of the arm, about 3 to 5 centimetres behind the groove between the biceps and triceps muscles, and about 8 to 10 centimetres above the bony bump on the inside of the elbow, in the non-dominant arm. The aim is to keep away from the large blood vessels and nerves that run in and around that groove.2
Definition
Subdermal means just under the skin, above the muscle. A deep or non-palpable implant is one that has ended up below that layer, or can no longer be felt with the fingers.
In plain terms: a properly placed implant sits just under the skin, where you and your doctor can feel both ends. If no one can feel it, something has changed.
Australian training standards for clinicians say the presence of the implant should be confirmed, and both ends felt, before and after insertion or removal.3 The peak body for family planning services has also cautioned that putting the implant anywhere other than the standard site carries extra risks, including deep placement, difficult removal, migration, breakage and injury to nearby nerves and blood vessels. If an alternative site is used, you should be told it is “off label” and that should be documented.4
Questions to ask at insertion
- Who is inserting it, and what training have they had?
- Can you show me where it is, and let me feel both ends before I leave?
- Will you write down where it was placed and that you felt it?
- What should I do if I can’t feel it later?
- Who removes deep implants if that’s ever needed?
The first weeks
Bruising, soreness and itching around the site for a few days are common, and a small scar is normal. Bleeding patterns often change. Periods may become lighter, stop, or become irregular or longer, and often settle after a few months. Headaches, acne, mood changes and breast tenderness are also possible.1 These are side effects of the hormone, not signs that anything was done wrongly, though you should still raise them if they are troubling you.
When you can’t feel it
An implant can move from its original position, and if you can’t feel it you should see your doctor and use back-up contraception in the meantime.1 That second part matters. Until the implant has been found, nobody can be sure it is still in your body and working.
Being unable to feel the implant can mean several things. It may have been placed too deep at insertion. It may have moved a short distance. Rarely, it may never have been inserted at all. Each needs a different response, and the first step is always the same: find it.
Australian training standards set out how. If the implant can’t be felt, it should be located with imaging, such as X-ray, CT, high-frequency ultrasound or MRI. If it is found but is deep, you should be referred to an experienced clinician or a centre experienced in deep implant removal. If it can’t be found at all, the clinician should consult the manufacturer, consider a blood test for the hormone level, advise non-hormonal contraception, and arrange timely localisation and removal to prevent migration. The same standards say exploratory surgery without a confirmed location is contraindicated.3
Definition
Contraindicated means a treatment should not be done because the risks outweigh any benefit.
In plain terms: nobody should be cutting into your arm to go looking for an implant they can’t see on a scan.
Can it travel?
Most movement is small. A 2020 case report in the Australian Journal of General Practice explains that scar tissue usually fixes the implant in place within about three months, and that before then any local movement is generally less than two centimetres. Very rarely, an implant enters a vein and travels to the lungs. That is serious and needs specialist retrieval, but it appears in the medical literature only as case reports.5 If an implant can’t be found in the arm, guidance suggests imaging the chest next.2
Can you feel it? What to do next
A general guide only. If something feels wrong, trust that and ask.
You can feel both ends
- Some bruising or tenderness early on
- Changes to your periods
- A small scar at the site
In plain terms: this is how it should be. Check it now and then.
Book an appointment soon
- You can’t feel it, or only one end
- It feels deeper or in a different place
- Pain, numbness or tingling down the arm
- A removal attempt has failed
In plain terms: use back-up contraception and ask for imaging to find it.
Same day, or call 000
- A hot, red, swollen arm or pus
- Fever or feeling unwell
- Weakness in the hand or arm
- Chest pain, sudden breathlessness or coughing blood (call 000)
In plain terms: don’t wait for a routine appointment.
Getting a deep implant out
Removing an implant that sits just under the skin is usually quick. Removing one that is deep, close to nerves or muscle, or that has moved, is a different procedure. It should be planned with imaging, done by someone experienced in deep removals, and explained to you properly beforehand, including the risks to nearby nerves.3
If you have already had a failed attempt, or more than one, you are entitled to ask why, and to ask for a referral to someone with more experience. You can check any practitioner’s registration on the Ahpra public register.6
When you want to get pregnant
One of the most painful parts of a lost or deep implant is what it does to plans for a family. People search for things like “how to get pregnant with the implant in your arm” because they are waiting, sometimes for months, to have it found and removed. If that is you, ask your doctor directly about the timeline for imaging and referral, and what can be done in the meantime. Your plans are a legitimate reason to ask for things to move faster.
If your implant failed and you became pregnant when you didn’t intend to, that is a different situation, and one with its own legal rules in NSW. It is worth getting advice early.
After removal
Most people heal with a small scar. Some are left with ongoing pain, numbness or weakness in the arm, particularly where a nerve was injured during insertion or removal. If that is you, ask for a referral to have the nerve assessed. Our guides to permanent nerve damage and neuropathic pain are about a different part of the body, but the legal questions are similar.
If you felt brushed off when you said you couldn’t feel it, you are not imagining it. Being told a real concern is “normal” is something I write about in when being dismissed by a doctor becomes a legal issue.
The ultrasound took ten minutes. The sonographer turned the screen so I could see: a thin bright line, sitting much deeper than I’d imagined, right down against the muscle. “There it is,” she said. “It’s just in a tricky spot.”
I was referred to a clinic that did deep removals. Before the appointment I asked for my records from the original insertion. There was the date, the batch number, my arm. There was no note that anyone had felt it afterwards. Nothing about where it was placed. And from the visit in March, one line: “Implant not palpable. Reassured.”
My partner read it over my shoulder. “Reassured,” he said. “That’s the word they used.”
The doctor at the new clinic marked my arm with the ultrasound, explained every step, and told me what could go wrong. For the first time, I felt like someone was treating it as real.
A composite story, drawn from the experiences of many families I have worked with, combined and changed so that no one can be identified. It does not describe any individual client.
What to look for in the records
Your records are often where the story becomes clear. You have a right to access your own health information. In NSW the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 covers both public and private providers, and the Information and Privacy Commission explains how to ask.7 Our step-by-step guide to getting your medical records in Australia walks you through it.
| Record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Insertion record and consent form | Shows who inserted it, which arm, where, and whether risks such as deep insertion, nerve injury and migration were explained. |
| Note confirming the implant was felt | Training standards say both ends should be felt after insertion. A missing note is worth noticing. |
| Notes from later visits | Shows what was done when you reported that you couldn’t feel it, and whether back-up contraception was advised. |
| Imaging requests and reports | Ultrasound, X-ray or other scans showing where the implant was, and when they were done. |
| Removal records | Who attempted removal, what happened, and whether imaging was used to guide it. |
| Referral letters | Shows whether you were sent to someone experienced in deep removal, and how quickly. |
| Your own diary, photos and messages | Notes made at the time are evidence too. Keep them. |
How the law looks at it
A deep or moved implant is not, on its own, negligence. Even with good technique, problems can happen. The legal questions are whether the care you received met the standard expected, and whether any shortfall caused you harm.
A claim usually turns on three questions: whether the care fell below what peers would widely accept as competent practice (section 5O of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW))8, whether that shortfall probably caused harm you wouldn't otherwise have had (Tabet v Gett)9, and, where it matters, whether you were told the material risks first (Rogers v Whitaker)1011. Our guide to how a medical negligence claim works explains each one in plain terms.
In an implant case, the questions might be: was it placed at the recommended site? Was it felt and documented after insertion? When you said you couldn’t feel it, was it located with imaging and were you told to use back-up contraception? Was a deep implant removed by someone with the right experience, guided by imaging?
In plain terms, the question is whether better care would probably have avoided the nerve injury, extra surgery, scarring or other harm you were left with.
For an implant, that would usually include the possibility of deep placement, nerve injury, difficult removal and, rarely, migration. If an unusual insertion site was used, you should have been told.
Who can claim, and when
The person who had the implant can claim. If you were under 18, a parent or guardian can usually act for you. Claims involving an unplanned pregnancy have their own rules in NSW, so get advice early. In NSW, time usually runs from when you knew, or ought to have known, enough to claim, not from the treatment itself, and courts can sometimes extend it, so an old injury may still count. See time limits in NSW or other states, and ask early.
More: complaint or claim? · how a claim is paid for · what a claim can cover
In my practice
When I look at files about implants, the story is rarely about one dramatic mistake. It is usually a series of small missed steps. An insertion note that doesn’t say the rod was felt afterwards. A visit months later where a patient says “I can’t find it” and the note says “reassured”. No scan. No advice about back-up contraception. Then a removal attempt by someone who couldn’t see what they were looking for. Each step can seem minor, and each clinician may have been doing their best in a busy clinic. Together, they can turn a five-minute procedure into months of worry and a scar that didn’t need to be there. What strikes me is how often people tell me they felt silly for asking. Asking was exactly the right thing to do.
Both things can be true
The implant may suit you well, and the way yours was managed may still have fallen short. The nurse who reassured you may have been kind and well-meaning, and you may still have needed a scan. You can value the contraception and still want answers about what happened to your arm.
The bigger picture
In 2020, after updated product information, Australian sexual health services changed their advice on where implants should be placed, to keep further away from nerves and blood vessels.2 Training recommendations for clinicians who insert and remove Implanon NXT were updated again in November 2025. They cover simulation training, assessment, how to handle deep or non-palpable implants, and reporting misplaced, faulty or broken implants to the manufacturer or the Therapeutic Goods Administration.3
Complaints about a clinician’s care in NSW can go to the Health Care Complaints Commission.12 If your implant was faulty or broke, it can also be reported to the TGA. Other harms from contraceptive medicines are covered in our article on Depo-Provera and delayed warnings, and in our guide to medication, drug and device harm.
Support
You don't have to work through this alone. These services can help:
- Lifeline, 24-hour crisis support: 13 11 14 (listed on healthdirect's helplines page)13
- Beyond Blue, anxiety and depression support: 1300 22 4636
- Medicare Mental Health, help finding mental health support: 1800 595 212
- healthdirect, 24-hour nurse advice: 1800 022 222
- Health Care Complaints Commission (NSW): 1800 043 159
A woman who sat in a car park pressing her arm found someone who could see what she couldn’t, and explained it. You deserve the same.
With care,
Rosemary
Frequently asked questions
How do you know if your Nexplanon was inserted incorrectly?
You should be able to feel both ends under the skin. If you can’t, it may be too deep or may have moved, and it should be located with imaging.
What should I do if I can’t feel my implant?
Use back-up contraception and see your doctor. Ask for an ultrasound or X-ray to find it.
Can a contraceptive implant move?
Small movements can happen, usually in the first months. Very rarely an implant travels through a vein, which needs specialist care.
Who should remove a deep implant?
A clinician experienced in deep implant removal, using imaging to guide them. Exploratory surgery without a confirmed location is not recommended.
Can I get pregnant if they can’t find my implant?
Until it is found and removed, nobody can be sure. Ask your doctor about the timeline for imaging and removal.
Can I claim if my implant caused nerve damage?
Possibly. It depends on whether the care fell below the accepted standard and caused harm you wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Questions about your implant?
When you're ready, and not before, I can look at what happened and help you understand your options.
Contraception and gynaecology guides
- “I can’t feel my implant anymore”: Nexplanon (Implanon NXT) problems (you are here)
- “Was that pain normal?” When an IUD insertion goes wrong
- “The Botox made it worse”: Pelvic floor Botox side effects
- Depo-Provera and brain tumours: delayed warnings and harm
- Can you sue a doctor for delayed diagnosis of endometriosis?
Part of our guide to endometriosis and gynaecology. Not sure where you stand? Try the free claim checker.
References
- healthdirect Australia. Contraceptive implant.
- Sexual Health Quarters. New advice regarding placement position for Implanon NXT. 3 September 2020.
- Implanon NXT (etonogestrel) subdermal implant: training recommendations for healthcare professionals in Australia. Version 4, November 2025 (hosted by Sexual Health Victoria).
- Family Planning Alliance Australia. Statement of the Clinical Reference Group of the FPAA Medical Advisory Committee (Implanon NXT insertion site).
- Shekarforoush M, Chapman S, Moriarty HK, et al. Implanon NXT embolisation into the pulmonary arterial tree. Aust J Gen Pract. 2020;49(9).
- Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Register of practitioners.
- Information and Privacy Commission NSW. Fact sheet: Accessing your health information in NSW.
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) s 5O, Standard of care for professionals.
- Tabet v Gett [2010] HCA 12.
- Rogers v Whitaker [1992] HCA 58; (1992) 175 CLR 479.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Informed consent.
- Health Care Complaints Commission NSW. Home page.
- healthdirect Australia. Mental health helplines.
Stories in this article are composites, drawn from the experiences of many families I have worked with, combined and changed so that no one can be identified. They do not describe any individual client.
Dr Rosemary Listing, PhD (Law), Medical negligence lawyer since 2014 · Of Counsel, Peter Evans & Associates. Rosemary's doctorate examined patterns of failure in medical negligence, and she teaches health law at the University of Newcastle. She is not medically qualified. About Rosemary.
Last updated: 10 November 2026 · First published: 10 November 2026 · Next review: May 2027
Cite this article: Listing R. “I can’t feel my implant anymore”: Nexplanon (Implanon NXT) problems, deep insertion and migration. Reframe Legal. Published 10 November 2026. https://reframelegal.com/nexplanon-inserted-incorrectly/
This article is general information, not legal or medical advice. It does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Speak to your treating clinicians about your health, and get legal advice about your own situation.
If you are in danger or need urgent medical help, call 000. For crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Legal services are provided by Peter Evans & Associates.
