Table of Contents
What is an IVC stent?
Vena cava stents are designed for use in the superior vena cava (SVC), which transports deoxygenated blood from the upper part of the body back to the heart. In rarer cases they are used in the inferior vena cava (IVC), which carries the deoxygenated blood from the lower part of the body back to the heart.
How long does a permanent IVC filter last?
The use of IVC filters has gone down over the last 10+ years. This may be in response to complaints about complications and the 2010 recommendation from the FDA that set removal guidelines at roughly between one and two months for most patients.
What are the different types of IVC filters?
There are two general types of IVC filters currently available in the United States: permanent and optional (or retrievable). Permanent filters have been used since the 1970s and are placed in patients with a long-term need for mechanical prophylaxis against PE and absolute contraindications to anticoagulation.
Do IVC filters break up clots?
An IVC filter is a small, wiry device. When the filter is placed in your IVC, the blood flows past the filter. The filter catches blood clots and stops them from moving up to the heart and lungs. This helps to prevent a pulmonary embolism.
Do patients with IVC filters need anticoagulation?
Conclusion: Inferior vena cava filters can be placed in patients who cannot receive concomitant anticoagulation without placing them at significantly higher risk of development of venous thromboembolism.
What is IVC filter made of?
IVC stands for Inferior vena cava which is a major blood vessel that returns blood from the lower body to the heart. An IVC filter is a small piece of metal, made of nitinol or stainless steel that can be placed into the IVC to prevent blood clots in the legs from traveling to the lungs.
Can you get MRI with IVC filter?
Most manufacturers make their inferior vena cava (IVC) filters of non-ferromagnetic materials, meaning IVC filters are typically MRI safe.
How effective are IVC filters?
Current evidence indicates that IVC filters are largely effective; breakthrough PE occurs in only 0\% to 6.2\% of cases. Contraindications to implantation of IVC filters include lack of venous access, caval occlusion, uncorrectable coagulopathy, and sepsis.
What are symptoms of IVC filter problems?
When several clots become trapped in the filter, clot formation down the IVC can cause painful debilitating swelling in the legs. Other signs and symptoms of a problem might include darkening of the skin and ulceration in the lower extremities. Patients may have difficulty identifying the cause of their leg pain.
Who is a candidate for IVC filter?
Who is a candidate for a vena cava filter? Vena cava filters are recommended for patients who are high risk for developing a pulmonary embolism and are not able to take blood-thinner medications.
What are the side effects of the IVC filter?
Possible complications of an IVC filter placement include:
- Access site bleeding.
- Misplacement.
- Migration to the heart or lungs.
- Failure to open.
- Filter fracture.
- Infection.
- Vein perforation.
- Blockage of blood flow causing clots.
Do you need anticoagulation after IVC filter?
Anticoagulation should be resumed in patients with an IVC filter once contraindications to anticoagulation or active bleeding complications have resolved (class I). Patients who receive retrievable IVC filters should be evaluated periodically for filter retrieval within the specific filter’s retrieval window (class I).