Doctors use IVC filters to help prevent pulmonary embolism, however, they are exposing patients to more harm than PE. In a study by Dr. Kush Desai, standard retrieval techniques were twice as likely to fail when an IVC filter was implanted over 7 months prior.
IVC Filter Risks
IVC Filters use metal wires to capture and trap blood clots before they can reach the lungs. When a blood clot reaches the lung, it is referred to as a pulmonary embolism (PE). PEs cause about 300,000 deaths ever year – the third most common cause of death in hospital patients.
However, the device brings its own risks. It can cause vein and organ perforation when it migrates, deep venous thrombosis when a blood clot forms in a vein, pulmonary embolism (PE) when a blood clot in a deep vein travels through the bloodstream to the lungs, often causing death. The most common is failed removal.
IVC Filter Failed Removal Study
Not only did the study by Dr. Desai find that less than 30% of IVC filters are ever removed, but also that the device carries an overall near 20% failure rate. That failure rate skyrockets to 41% after 7 months and using standard retrieval techniques.
Dr. Desai urged patients that the longer an IVC filter stays in the body, the more deadly they become.
This isn’t the first study to published these results. In 2013, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study focusing on IVC filters in nearly 1,000 patients. Of the 680 patients who received retrievable IVC filters, doctors were only able to successfully remove 58 of them. Doctors made 13 unsuccessful removal attempts, 11 of which occurred in those who had their filters for more than 85 days.
From the 13 unsuccessful attempts, eight patients couldn’t remove the filter because it was embedded. Three patients couldn’t have it removed since the device protruded through a blood vessel. Two others had unsuccessful removal since the device migrated, and the last unlucky patient had a blood clot inside the filter.
Lawsuits over Defective Design
Patients inserted with retrievable IVC filters are suing manufacturers over allegations of poor design and the manufacturer failing to warn patients of those risks. Faulty filters can puncture veins, fracture, migrate to other parts of the body which cause complications.
The Michael Brady Lynch Firm is accepting new cases in all 50 states. We offer a free, no obligation case review. You may be eligible for compensation to help offset the mounting costs sustained from your faulty IVC Filter. Let our decades of experience bring you the compensation you deserve.