Patients who have recently undergone IVC filter implantation, should be aware of the complications associated with the temporary models.

IVC filter complications have led to patients having the device removed, in order to prevent further medical complications.

IVC filter removal surgery has its own set of risks, with patients having to be vigilant against any potential blood clot formation. Patients receive IVC filters to trap and resolve blood clots that formed in the legs or pelvis, and to stop them from traveling to the heart or lungs.

These metal cage like devices are implanted in the body’s largest vein, the inferior vena cava (IVC), and are designed to help patients live a healthy and inhibited life. However, a number of patients have reported IVC filter complications, from the temporary models of the devices.

Originally only permanent IVC filter models were available for patients in danger of embolism attacks, but manufacturing companies have released temporary models in the past few years.

Even though both models are implanted using the same method and even function the same way, temporary models are only designed for short term use with experts advising patients to undergo IVC filter removal once the blood clot is resolved.

Even though manufacturing companies assured patients and the medical community that the temporary IVC filter models were just as safe and effective as the permanent models, IVC filter complications reported have indifferently.

The problems reportedly associated with the temporary IVC filter models include: device migration, filter fracture, organ perforation, and embolization of the device in the heart and lungs.

Overview of IVC Filter Risks

A number of studies have also indicated major IVC filter risks associated with the temporary models, with one published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2013. The study influenced the failure rate of temporary IVC filter models in 978 patients, with the results indicating major thrombotic events allegedly due to the device.

Due to the rising concern of the IVC filter complications, the FDA issued a 2010 public safety warning regarding the events. The agency revealed that it had received 921 IVC filter complication injury reports, in connection with the temporary models for the five years before the announcement.

During the years 2005 and 2010, with IVC filter injury reports including: device migration, filter perforation, filter fracture, embolization, and the device becomes unsafe to remove. Over 35 percent of the injury reports involved IVC filter migration, which when the device moves away from the implantation location.

The FDA indicated embolization as the second most commonly reported injury, causing most patients to undergo IVC filter removal procedures. In an updated FDA warning in 2014, the agency recommended that patients undergo IVC filter removal procedures within 29 to 54 days after the embolism is resolved.

Despite the severity of these problems, the manufacturing companies of the temporary IVC filter models allegedly knew about these complications but had chosen not to disclose them. Injured IVC filter patients may be eligible to file negligence damages against the companies, and should contact a specialized lawyer as soon as possible.