A growing number of patients implanted with blood clot filters are reporting IVC filter problems, some dangerous and life-threatening.

Inferior Vena Cava filters, also known as IVC filters or blood clot filters, are used to prevent blood clots reaching a patient’s lungs or heart.

The traveling of blood clots is linked with serious complications and can even be fatal.

The filter is placed in the inferior vena cava, which is the largest vein in the body. Patients at a particular risk of developing severe blood clots may be advised to receive an IVC filter implant by their doctor.

Others may be advised to use an anticoagulant, also known as a blood thinner. For those who are unable to take blood thinners, an IVC filter may be their only option.

Thousands of patients are implanted with IVC filters each year. Unfortunately, IVC filters have been associated with serious side effects and dangerous IVC filter removal problems.

Some of these IVC filter side effects include vein and organ perforation as well as device migration and breakage that can severely injure patients.

These complications can be extreme enough to lead to the need of IVC filter removal. Filter removal, however, can lead to its own problems—including but not limited to migration and breakage.

IVC filter removal lawsuits across the country claim that IVC filter complications may be even more harmful than the clots themselves.

Hundreds of patients have sent adverse event reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the past ten years regarding IVC filter removal problems.

Many of these patients have reported complications such as punctured organs and filter migrations, both of which can cause huge issues for a patient’s health.

IVC filters are implanted in a patient’s main artery to prevent blood clots from moving into a patient’s lungs and heart. Over time, this allows the clot to dissipate. Once the risk has past, the filter should be removed.

IVC filter removal problems have the potential to affect a great many people. Indeed, about a quarter million patients receive IVC filter devices per year.

IVC Filter Removal Problems

Serious inferior vena cava filter side effects can occur if the filter device is defective or incorrectly placed in the vein. A defective or incorrectly placed device can cause serious complications, including:

• Vein perforation
• Organ perforation
• Device migration/breakage
• Pulmonary embolism

Blood clot filter patients who suffer from these dangerous IVC filter side effects should seek medical attention to have their filter removed. In some more serious cases, it may be too dangerous for blood clot filter removal, as any movement could cause immediate serious damage.

IVC Filter Removal Problems Lawsuits

Many patients who have experienced serious IVC filter removal problems such as perforation have responded by filing lawsuits against manufacturers of their device, alleging that the filters are not worth the risk, and that manufacturers intentionally concealed the seriousness of side effects from consumers and the larger medical community.

Lawsuits over IVC filter removal problems allege that device manufacturers have a responsibility to warn consumers and the medical community about the risks associated with the IVC filter devices.

Filing an IVC filter removal problems lawsuit cannot repair the damage a patient suffers, but can help compensate for financial losses from medical expenses and lost wages a patient may experience.

If you or someone you know has been implanted with an IVC filter and suffered from inferior vena cava filter side effects such as perforation, you may be able to file an IVC filter lawsuit.