IVC filters can be lifesaving devices for those for whom anticoagulants do not work, however serious complications of inferior vena cava filters have concerned patients, doctors and the FDA.

When a patient has surgery or is recovering from a serious accident, blood clots can occur in the body. Sometimes these clots travel to the lungs. When this happens, it is called a pulmonary embolism.

Pulmonary embolisms can be fatal. If blood thinning medications are not a good option for a patient, a doctor often recommends a small cage-like device called an inferior vena cava filter.

These small medical devices are placed in the inferior vena cava vein to catch blood clots and prevent them from traveling to the lungs or heart. When a blood clot is trapped in an IVC filter, it eventually dissolves back into the body.

But complications from inferior vena cava filters have made the FDA as well as patients and doctors wonder if the benefits outweigh the problems from IVC filters.

Complications of Inferior Vena Cava Filters

Some IVC filters are designed to be permanent, but most are meant to be removed after the danger for blood clots has passed.

The Food and Drug Administration has reported that between 2005 and 2010, they received nearly 1000 reports of adverse events regarding inferior vena cava filters.

Some complications of inferior vena cava filters included device migration, filter perforation, filter fracture and detached device components.

The FDA then recommended that retrievable inferior vena cava filters should be removed between the 29^th and 54^th day after implantation in patients in which the risks of pulmonary embolism had subsided.

There are three types of complications of inferior vena cava filters: procedural complications, retrieval complications and delayed complications.

Procedural complications can include access site bleeding, bruising and blood vessel puncture. They can also include incorrect placement, a malposition of the filter or a defective filter deployment.

Retrieval complications of inferior vena cava filters happen when the device is removed. These complications can include blood vessel perforation, large clots in the filter that prevent removal, difficult removal that require long surgery times and scars in the vein that prevent removal.

Delayed complications of inferior vena cava filters happen after the filter is in the body. These include migration to another part of the vein or body, device infection, deep vein thrombosis, blockage or swelling in the legs, filter fracture or breakage, embolization of the filter and perforated organs.

If you or a loved one suffered complications from inferior vena cava filters, such as migration, IVC perforation, DVT or pulmonary embolism, you may have a legal claim.

An IVC filter lawsuit may help you obtain compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and more.