Some patients, who are at risk for blood clots, make a decision with their doctor to have a small metal device called an IVC filter implanted in their inferior vena cava vein.

However, instead of a blood clot, many patients experience life-threatening blood clot filter complications.

An IVC filter, or inferior vena cava filter, is a small, metal device that stops blood clots in the lower body from traveling to the lungs.

After lower body surgery like hip or knee replacement surgeries, many patients are at risk for blood clots.

These temporary or permanent devices are implanted into the inferior vena cava, the largest vein in the human body, to catch these clots before they travel to the lungs.

Blood clots that form deep inside the lower extremities such as the pelvis or legs are called deep venous thrombosis, or DVTs.

By themselves, DVTs are not life-threatening. However, if they travel through the body and make their way to the lungs, serious problems may occur.

In the lungs, DVTs can cut off blood flow to the lungs and cause death. When a DVT cuts off blood flow in the lungs, it is now called a pulmonary embolism, or PE.

Pulmonary embolisms are responsible for 300,000 deaths annually.

IVC filters were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1979. The use of these devices has progressed steadily since that time.

In 2012, it was reported that approximately 260,000 IVC filters were implanted into patients to help with blood clot risk.

Two major manufacturers of blood clot filters are C.R. Bard and Cook Medical.

Blood Clot Filter Complications

IVC filters are inserted via a catheter that has been inserted in the patients groin or neck. The small metal wires of the device trap blood clots before they migrate to the lungs.

Even though these devices seem to work well, IVC filters have been associated with a number of serious blood clot filter complications.

First on the list of blood clot filter complications is vein and organ perforation. The IVC filter can perforate the inferior vena cava itself or, if it breaks apart, pieces of the blood clot filter can travel through the body and perforate and damage other organs.

Blood clot filter complications can also include device migration. In this case, the IVC filter can move out of its intended place and either perforate other organs or render itself ineffective.

Other blood clot filter complications may include irregular heartbeat, loss of consciousness, chest pain or loss of breath, heart damage and fluid buildup around the heart.

Some filter devices are designed to be permanent and some are designed to be removed as soon as the risk for blood clots is over. The FDA has recommended that removable filters should be removed as soon as the risk is over.

If you or someone you love has suffered a blood clot filter injury, you may be eligible for a legal claim.