What is an IVC filter?
The Inferior Vena Cava (or IVC), is a large vein in the belly. It carries blood from the body back to the heart and lungs. If blood clots develop in the belly or legs, they can break off and go to the lungs. This can be life-threatening.
An IVC filter is a metallic device that is put in the IVC to catch blood clots before they can travel to the lungs.
Most IVC filters can be removed when they are no longer needed. IVC filters can protect patients, but they do carry risks of breaking, moving, poking outside of the vein, and filling up with blood clots. Removing an IVC filter can get harder the longer it has been in place. However, IVC filters can stay in a person for life.
How is an IVC filter removed?
You will lay on a special table on your back. You will be given medicine through an IV to make you drowsy. The clinician will numb your neck. They will use moving x-rays to guide tiny tools to capture the IVC filter and take it out. After, the clinician will cover the pinhole in the neck with a small bandage. There are no stitches.
IVC Filter Removal
1. The clinician puts a wire in a vein in the neck or top of the thigh.
2. The clinician uses moving x-rays to guide tiny tools to capture the IVC filter.
3. The clinician takes the filter out through a small tube and puts a bandage over the pinhole in the skin.
What are the risks?
IVC filter removal is a safe procedure when done by a specialist.
1 to 3 in 100 people experience bleeding or develop an infection.
In less than 1 in 100 people, the IVC filter breaks or moves, there is damage to the vein or surrounding tissues, or there is internal bleeding.
What are the alternatives?
The alternative is to leave the IVC filter in place. However, leaving the IVC filter in place carries the risks described above. You should discuss the risks and benefits of removal with your clinician.