The role of levonorgestrel implants in hormonal contraception

Abstract

Levonorgestrel subdermal implants have been available worldwide for more than 15 years. Norplant was the first significant development in family planning since the oral and intrauterine contraceptives of the 1960s. No other contraceptive system has been so thoroughly evaluated before and after introduction; more than 6 million women have used Norplant and more than 50 000 women have participated in clinical trials with this product ,which show the safety ,efficacy and acceptability of implants for family planning. Technical advances in sustained-release steroid delivery now permit the safety and efficacy of Norplant to be transferred to a two-rod system that is faster and easier to insert and remove and is packaged in its own single-use trocar. Levonorgestrel implants will provide long-term family planning to women who have used Norplant and want to continue implant contraception ,and will appeal to a new generation of women who want a highly effective ,ultra-low-dose hormonal method without serious side-effects. Worldwide availability of implants that are easy to initiate and discontinue will broaden the appeal of low-dose ,sustained-release contraception to clinicians and users. Many women who rely on less effective ,harder-to-use methods will find that levonorgestrel implants are a simple alternative with minimal physiological impact.

• Contraception
• Two-ROD Levonorgestrel Subdermal Implant
• Norplant
• Progestogens
• Sustained-RELEASE Contraception