IVC Filter Placement & Removal In South Florida

If you’ve been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), you’ve come to the right medical specialists. Our board-certified interventional radiologists at Florida Endovascular and Interventional in South Florida have the expertise and experience you need for lifesaving DVT treatment – including the placement and removal of IVC filters.

What Is the IVC and Why Does It Need a Filter?

The vena cava is a large vein located in your abdomen. The largest vein in the body, it transports oxygen-depleted blood from all the veins in your legs and pelvic region back to the heart. The vena cava is divided into an upper (superior) and lower (inferior) section.

Placing a filter inside the lower portion of the vein (the “inferior vena cava,” or IVC) is meant to capture any runaway blood clots before the clot can travel to the heart or lungs, where a pulmonary embolism may cause sudden death. Because most pulmonary embolisms come from DVTs in the legs, the vena cava is where a DVT must pass to get to the lungs.

IVC filters are meant to provide an added layer of protection for those susceptible to pulmonary embolisms. Most often, the filter – a metal device that resembles a tiny umbrella frame – is meant to remain in place for a relatively short duration, for several months to a year. This allows a patient to avoid any complications as a result of long-term use of the filter.

When Are IVC Filters Recommended?

Every situation is unique, and our doctors are well-versed in assessing the best situations for placement or removal of an IVC filter. In general, IVC filters are meant to prevent fatal lung clots for predisposed patients as they recover from a surgery or an accident. In some cases, an IVC filter may be recommended for those who aren’t able to safely take anticoagulant medications – or for those who already take anticoagulants but still have a problem with DVTs.

Placement of an IVC Filter

The filter is put in place during a same-day, outpatient procedure in a Florida Endovascular and Interventional surgery suite. As with all the procedures we offer, an IVC placement is minimally invasive – in this case, a catheter is threaded to the lower vena cava from a blood vessel in the neck or groin, using real-time video imaging as a guide. You will be sedated via IV and should experience no pain or discomfort during the procedure.

Blockages at the IVC Filter

When the IVC filter does its job by “catching” a blood clot that has broken free and is traveling toward the heart and lungs, the trapped clot in the filter can still manage to create a blood flow blockage, or occlusion, in the vein. While not immediately life-threatening, this may require urgent medical attention and treatment. Depending on the size of the captured blood clot, the IVC occlusion can cause problematic signs and symptoms, most commonly painful swelling in the legs. Should this occur, the recommended treatment is removal of the filter.

Removal of an IVC Filter

The IVC filter is removed similarly to how it was placed – during a convenient and comfortable in-office, same-day procedure in a Florida Endovascular and Interventional surgery suite.