Is Bard IVC Filter the Right Choice for You?
An inferior vena cava filter is a small, metal device designed to stop a blood clot from traveling to the lungs and causing a pulmonary embolism, or a blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries. Doctors insert the device into the inferior vena cava of a patient, the main vein that returns blood from the lower body back to the heart. The device looks like a metal cage, and when blood clots form in the legs, known as deep vein thrombosis, the filters catch the clots. It is commonly placed in people who are at risk for pulmonary embolism when anticoagulants (blood thinners) are ineffective or not an option. The filters are designed to be permanent implants but some can be removed. The FDA approved the device in 1979, and from then, a huge number of the device is inserted. Now, patients are suffering from the side-effects of the drug. The most common side-effects include: · Blood clot filter migration · Filter fracture · Embolization · Pe
