The Dreadful Story of IVC Filters

Created as an alternative to anticoagulant medications for some patients, these filters, however, were subjected to various health issues. Hundreds of patients have reported how the struts of the defective device caused organ perforation, pulmonary embolism and more. The victims of the ivc filter complications filed for lawsuits claiming the price of their pain and suffering.

Safety warnings

While doctors have recommended IVC filters far back as that during the 1970s, the FDA released a warning about the associated health risks in 2010 after they received more than 900 adverse event reports. Four years later, the FDA released a health warning to doctors, recommending the filter’s removal once a patient is no longer seems to be at the risk for pulmonary embolism. According to the agency's statement, the device should be removed within 29 to 54 days of the initial procedure to prevent any unnecessary ivc filter complications.

But what caused more concern to the FDA when the American College of Cardiology discovered how the physicians fail to monitor patients after implanting an IVC filter and neither do they provide with sufficient information about the device. Thus, no matter what the has been stated by the FDA, retrieval rates remain low.

Between the initial implant, retrieval and the prolonged use beyond the FDA’s recommendations, IVC filters pose several serious complications.

Let's have a look at the major health effects associated with the implant of this device:

• Migration: Sometimes an IVC filter moves out of its intended position. This is one of the most frequently reported IVC filter complications.
• Filter fracture: This happens when some filters break while they are in the position.
• Detachment of components: commonly referred to as embolization, parts of the filter may detach and be left loose in the bloodstream causing pain and other complications.
• Perforation: When the parts of filters break through the intended position, it is known to cause perforation to the walls of the inferior vena cava and sometimes even of the nearby organs.

With 921 adverse reports on the defective filters between 2005 and 2010, the following were the complications:

• 328 cases of migration of the device
• 146 cases involved embolizations
• 70 reported perforations
• 56 filters were found to have fractured

Symptoms of IVC Filter Complications

There may be symptoms causing pain, specially when the IVC poke into the other blood vessels. Abdominal and back pain are very common and is a potential indication of a problem with the filter. There can be people who think they are having a heart attack, specially when the struts reach the heart. Serious problems such as coughing up blood, heart attacks, swelling in the heart are common symptoms of problems with the device and should not be ignored.

Victims of these complications can file for the lawsuits claiming for the damage awards where they can get the compensation for the pain and suffering, expenses for the hospitalization, loss of wages and much more.