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West Palm Beach Personal Injury Law Blog

Complications of IVC Filters

Deep venin thrombosis (DVT) with or without associated pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common preventable cause of death. Despite the success of aggressive preventative measures and screening programs, the rates of DVT and/or PE continue to be relatively high. Anticoagulation remains the standard therapy for DVT/PE and has been demonstrated to improve clinical outcomes. Despite the proven benefit of anticoagulation, some patients present with clinical situations that do not allow for the use of this proven mode of therapy. For this group of patients physicians increasingly have been turning to inferior vena cava filters (IVC).

What is an IVC Filter?

An IVC filter is a small, spider-like surgical implant, placed into the inferior vena cava, which returns blood from the lower half of the body to the heart. Many IVC filters are designed for short-term use, but some are approved for permanent placement. The IVC filter's metal leg design is intended to hold it in place in the vein, allowing blood flow and filtering of blood clots before they can reach the heart. The number of filter devices implanted in patients has grown to an estimated 200,000 per year according to the FDA.

Contradictions

Contradictions to IVC filter placement are uncommon but should be promptly recognized when they are present. In every invasive procedure, it is important to ensure that essential steps are taken to avoid potentially preventable complications. For the clinicians who insert an IVC, this first step begins with a solid understanding of the indications and contradictions of the placement of such filter.

Inexperience with the delivery mechanism of an IVC filter can result in the inappropriate placement of the device. The commercially available filters in the United States vary in deployment techniques.

Complications

Numerous complications associated with IVC filter insertion and utilization has been reported in the literature and was the subject of a 2010 FDA safety warning. Some significant complications include:

•- Sudden cardiac arrest due to migration of the filter into the cardiac chamber;

•- Death;

•- Arrhythmias secondary to guidewire contact with endocardium;

•- Embolism;

•- Bleeding and/or hematoma at the insertion site;

•- Insertion site infection and/or pyohlebitis; and

•- Retained, misplaced or broken off catheters and venous insertion sheaths.

To conclude, placement of an IVC filter can have significant complications. Migration of a filter into a cardiac chamber is a complication that can result in mortality. Migration may occur at the time of initial deployment or much later.

Filter Fracture

Filter fracture is a phenomenon in which the individual struts of the filter fail and cause malformation of the device. The reported incidence of filter fracture is as high as 10%. The resulting structural change may predispose the device or one of its parts to embolization.

Filter Penetration or Erosion

Penetration or erosion of the IVC wall by filter prongs are rare and mostly asymptomatic events, usually noted incidentally during routine follow-up after the filter placement. Penetration of the IVC wall by the legs of a filter has been associated with perforation/erosion of the duodenum, small bowel, ureter and aorta.

Experienced, Risk Free Consultation

If you or a loved one has suffered serious IVC filter side effects, or if your loved one died as a result of a defective IVC filter, contact Babbitt Johnson Osborne & LeClainche for experienced legal representation. Babbitt Johnson Osborne & LeClainche has a proven record of success in handling complex cases involving defective medical devices, nationwide. To schedule a discussion about your IVC filter lawsuit claim, contact our IVC filter lawyers today, toll-free at (888) 407-5164 or via email at jaosborne@babbitt-johnson.com .

Chantix litigation moving forward; bellwether suits slated for trial

We have written about Chantix, the by-now infamous Pfizer anti-smoking medication, before (e.g., please see our November 23 blog post from last year). The mere mention of Chantix is charged for many people and brings quick word associations that are closely associated with pharmaceutical injury and serious side effects.

NFL under relentless pressure from head injury suits, Seau's death

As sad as it was, likely future Hall of Fame football player Junior Seau's recent death couldn't have come at a worse time for the National Football League (NFL), which is reeling under a steady onslaught of lawsuits being filed by current and former players regarding traumatic brain injuries.

Serious injury is a given in any contact sport, especially the NFL, but the league is being accused of actively disregarding and covering up both the head injury incidents that routinely occur during play and their severity. Several hundred claims have been filed against the NFL seeking damages by players who suffered concussions and other head traumas during the course of their professional careers.

Abbott Labs agrees to huge settlement in drug liability case

Abbott Laboratories, one of the world's largest drug manufacturers, will certainly feel a sharp financial sting following the recent settlement of a pharmaceutical liability matter involving Depakote, a drug approved by the FDA for epilepsy and bipolar disorder.

The drug maker has agreed to pay $1.6 billion in penalties for what federal regulators allege was the false marketing of Depakote for off-label uses not approved in the United States. The company reportedly pushed the drug aggressively for use in dementia and autism, among other things.

Tampa Bay Bucs "symbolically" sign paralyzed college player

"In life, you can't control what card you're dealt," says one young man who has had a lot of time to think about the unpredictable and challenging paths that can suddenly confront a person and force him to call upon great reserves of energy and strength.

Adds Eric LeGrand: "You've just got to deal with that card you're dealt."

The card dealt LeGrand on a fateful day in October 2010 left him with a serious injury -- indeed, a catastrophic and paralyzing blow -- suffered in a Rutgers-Army football game. LeGrand, a defensive tackle for Rutgers and a prospective NFL draft selection, broke two vertebrae and sustained a life-altering spinal cord injury from that hit, and was told initially by doctors that he might be a quadriplegic and never be able to breathe on his own.

Concerns and criticisms grow regarding heart device flaws

"I think if you saw 20 high-voltage fatalities with a pretty clear pattern of insulation abrasion, that should get your attention," says one doctor commenting on a wave of wrongful death outcomes associated with the heart lead wire device called Riata, made by St. Jude Medical.

That device -- which connects a defibrillator to a patient's heart -- is at the center of a growing crescendo of concern expressed by heart surgeons and other doctors, as well as by federal safety regulators, regarding assertions and promises made by industry leaders.

Product liability focus: Defective baby bicycle seat recalled

There is virtually nothing that will cast a more palling spotlight on a retail company or spur quicker demands from safety regulators for a product recall than instances of children having body parts amputated from use of a product.

Product liability cases involving infants' crushed or severed fingers, toes or other body parts occur more commonly than many people suspect, says Rachel Weintraub, the product safety director at the Consumer Federation of America.

"It is an incredibly horrific injury, but it's not all that rare," notes Weintraub, who points to "different rashes of recalls and unusual outlier cases."

Transvaginal mesh (TVM) cases proceeding with dispatch

The consolidated multidistrict litigation (MDL) actions involving serious injuries sustained by women in Florida and elsewhere across the country implanted with transvaginal mesh (TVM) products continue to move forward with dispatch.

As we have noted for our readers in recent blog posts (please see our April 10 and April 18 posts), the TVM product liability cases potentially involve many hundreds of claims by injured women. Recently, three MDLs were consolidated into a fourth in the U.S. District Court of West Virginia, where they have been assigned for the sake of convenience and efficiency.

Report: Robotic drug dispensers can lead to infections, injuries

Many commentators on medical practice in the United States, supported by evidence carefully gleaned through a number of clinical studies, have pointed out over the past several years a central irony associated with a patient's going to the hospital to get better.

Namely, that is this: Many of those patients actually get worse.

The culprits that contribute to a patient's worsening condition and serious injury in a hospital setting are many and diverse. They include flat-out hospital negligence deriving from surgical error or a misdiagnosis of the patient's condition. They can result from medication errors, substandard nursing care and hospital-acquired infections.

Dramatic helmet innovations seek to minimize players' head injuries

It's not your grandfather's helmet.

In fact, football players of previous generations might be rendered temporarily speechless in seeing some of the progressive innovations that are coming to the fore with player's headgear these days, all intended to minimize impact and guard against serious injury.

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