It is essential to know about the IVC filter placement if you or anyone you know is opting for it. Simply put, doctors place this device inside the internal vena cava, a big vein in the abdomen region that brings blood to the lower torso. If there are blood clots in the leg veins, it can move to the lungs and result in pulmonary blockage or embolism. Here the IVC Filters might help to minimize the chances of pulmonary embolism, by capturing these clots. The filter helps to prevent the clots from reaching the lungs and heart. Doctors suggest it to patients for whom the convention blood thinners don’t work.
Uses of the IVC Filter process
Usually doctors place the Inferior Vena Cava in patients who have an earlier medical record of developing blood clots in the legs. It also includes patients who:
- Are completely immobile
- Are affected by pulmonary embolus
- Got diagnosed with DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis)
- Have witnessed some trauma
It is essential to place the IVC filter well, with an aim to prevent any chances of vena cava filter complications. Hence, the placement process is necessary.
The IVC Filter placement process
The IVC filter placement process makes use of a filter in the IVC. Until sometime ago, IVC filters were mostly available in the form of a permanently implanted device. The advanced, filters named optionally retrievable filters might stay in place for a long time. It comes with the choice of removing from the patient’s blood vessel at a later time. And this removal can be done when the chances of the blood clot migrating to the heart and lungs have stopped.
Only an ace physician can assess the condition. Also, the interventional radiologist is the one to detect it, who has placed the IVC filter. It takes place six months after the placement. When doctors device to take away the filters from the patient body, it reduces al the long term dangers that include recurrent DVT as well as filter fracture. Here you won’t be able to know the real cause of the DVT.
The issues related to retrieval
Till date, it is somewhat unclear as to how the majority of the IVC Filter penetrations or placement can cause critical health hazards. Several health experts had monitored the placement using a CT and also done some necessary follow-ups. It was essential to have a clear understanding of the natural history of this chronic condition. Patient has expressed that the success of retrieval rate is instead very slim. Today, doctors are caught up in medical studies and clinical trials concerning IVC filter removal. They are studying whether percutaneous retrieval is safe to do as an alternative treatment method. Doctors have also stated that during the filter removal stage, there are 8.5% chances of technical failures that also should be worked upon.
IVC Filter complications and unsuccessful retrieval have resulted in untimely deaths. And hence, it is possible for patients and their families to file a lawsuit against this medical procedure and fight it through. There are lawyers and law firms that are expert in this field and can add value to your lawsuit.