Doctors May Be Neglecting IVC Filter Device Patients

Doctors implanting the IVC Filter into their patients have an ethical responsibility to monitor their patients and to remove the device when it is no longer needed

Tuesday, December 4, 2018 - The Inter Vena Cava Filter (IVC) is a removable device was originally thought to be an innovative medical device designed to stop blood clots from traveling to the heart and lungs causing pulmonary embolism. IVC filters manufactured by CR Bard have malfunctioned, however, and broken apart when a surgeon tries to remove the device to clean or replace it. When even one of the spider-like legs of the IVC breaks away it can travel to other organs of the body, become lodged and lacerate the organ. Since an IVC device is placed into the major artery in between the heart and lungs the first destination for a broken IVC filter spindle is directly into the heart and posing the risk of immediate and sudden death. When a spindly leg gets trapped in an organ the body reflexively goes into spasms in order to expel the foreign object. This causes the broken device, to be driven deeper and deeper into the tissues, much like choking on a chicken bone. As a result of the difficulty in periodically removing IVC filters to clean or replace them intact, the FDA has taken steps to recommend IVC devices be removed and not reinserted. Attorneys handling IVC filter lawsuit claims are offering women a free consultation.

In 2014, the FDA issued an Urgent Field Safety Communication concerning IVC removal safety. Based on adverse event reports to the agency, the FDA issued guidance as to what to do in the event the device migrates intact or fractures and pieces migrate to the heart and lungs and addresses the effects breaking the device while trying to remove it presents. The FDA is most concerned with the lack of follow up and monitoring by physicians of the IVC Filter once the risk of pulmonary embolism has passed. Physicians often leave the device in the patient when it is no longer needed, sometimes permanently. The device then can break apart or migrate into the heart. The FDA recommends that retrievable IVC filter be permanently removed when the risks from pulmonary embolism subside. The FDA is also concerned that the device is being used when ordinary blood thinners would be sufficient to reduce the risk of the blood clotting.

IVC Filters manufactured by CR Bard and others are designed to catch blood clots before they reach the lungs by trapping them. Blood is allowed to flow over the trapped clots with the intention of dissolving them. The IVC filter may protect patients who are at risk of developing a recurrent pulmonary embolism, patients who were treated in the past with blood thinners. Implanting an IVC filter should be considered last resort for patients that are intolerant to blood thinning drugs.

In response to complaints and lawsuits, CR Bard issued the following warning to physicians contemplating the use of the controversial medical device, "Vena cava filters are implanted by physicians only after careful consideration of the risks and benefits of the device in light of each patient's condition. When used as instructed, Bard IVC Filters demonstrate significant benefits to patients and have a safety profile consistent with the medical guidelines published by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR)."

More Recent IVC Filter Lawsuit News:

• Scientific Authors Agree That IVC Filters May Have Been Overused In Anticipation of Blood Clots Occurring | 2/26/2022
• IVC Filter Use Has Skyrocketed And So Have Patient Complaints | 2/22/2022
• IVC Filter Removal Continues To Generate Controversy In Medical Circles | 2/12/2022
• Pulmonary Embolism Kills Over 100,000 People Each Year Hospitalized With Traumatic Injury | 2/7/2022
• Bard Faces Thousands Of IVC Filter Lawsuits Over The Product's Unique Inherent Design Defects | 2/2/2022
• Stanford's Dr. Kuo Has Helped Pioneer Advanced IVC Filter Laser Retrieval | 1/28/2022
• Doctors Struggle With Deciding When Is The Optimal Time To Remove A Patient's IVC Filter | 1/14/2022
• Doctors May Use IVC Filters More Often Now That Laser Removal Is An Option | 1/10/2022
• IVC Filter Lasers Highlights Focus Attention On Removal Complications | 1/4/2022
• IVC Filter Retrieval Complications Have Been Known For Years | 12/30/2021
• Lasers May Now Enable Doctors To Safely Retrieve Embedded IVC Filters | 12/22/2021
• IVC Filters May Do Nothing To Prevent Death Or Pulmonary Embolism For Trauma Patients | 12/16/2021
• IVC Filters Can Help Save The Lives Of Young People That Experience Multiple Sudden Blood Clots | 12/1/2021
• The FDA Recommends That An IVC Filter Stay In Place No Longer Than Two Months | 11/26/2021
• Bard Sales Reps, Surgeons, And Even The FDA All Looked The Other Way And Failed To Warn IVC Filter Patients | 11/18/2021
• Ozone Cleaning Products Are Not FDA Approved And May Be Responsible For CPAP Foam Insulation Breakdown | 11/12/2021
• Patients Should Know Of All Of The Risks Of Having An IVC Filter Implanted To Trap Blood Clots | 11/12/2021
• Blood Clot Patients Chest Pain Patients Are Talking To IVC Filter Lawyers About Holding Bard Accountable | 11/5/2021
• The IVC Filter Is Substantially Similar To The Faulty And Defective Essure Birth Control Device | 11/1/2021
• The Food And Drug Administration Has Been Warning Surgeons About The IVC Filters Design Flaws For More Than A decade | 10/28/2021
• IVC Filter Heart Pain Could Be From The Device Having Fractured Into Pieces | 10/25/2021
• Bellwether Bard IVC Filter Lawsuit Highlights The Design Flaws | 10/20/2021
• IVC Filters Could Be Unnecessary If A Person Leads A Healthy Lifestyle | 10/15/2021
• The EPA's Farm Flagger Ban Came Decades Too Late for Thousands of Farm Workers Who Now Have Parkinson's disease | 10/12/2021
• Bard IVC Filters May Tilt, Migrate and Perforate The Artery Where They Were Implanted | 10/11/2021
• A Report Published In 2006 Documented IVC Filter Catastrophies | 10/5/2021
• Medical Safety Groups Call For The End of the FDA Fast-Track Medical Device Approval Process | 9/30/2021
• IVC Filters May Not Be Needed And Offer No Reduction In Mortality | 9/27/2021
• IVC Filters Are Implanted As A Last Resort And Left In Place Only If Blood Clotting Continues And There Is No Alternative | 9/24/2021
• IVC Filters Are A Bad Idea Fraught With Life-Threating Complications | 9/20/2021
• Doctors May Consider Vitamin K Anti-Coagulant Therapy Before Recommending IVC Filters | 9/15/2021
• Surgeons May Not Be Able To Retreive the Bard IVC Filter After Two or Three Months | 9/11/2021
• A High Failure Rate For IVC Filter Removal Can Be Expected And Surgeons Should Prepare For The Worse | 9/7/2021
• Thousands Of IVC Filters May Eventually Experience Catastrophic Failure | 9/2/2021
• Most Bard IVC Filters are Doomed To Failure and Surgeons Would Never Attempt To Retrieve It | 8/31/2021
• A California Jury Finds The Bard IVC Filter Is Negligently Designed | 8/27/2021
• Scar Tissue Build Up After 60 Days May Prevent Safe Bard IVC Filter Removal | 8/23/2021
• IVC Filter Removal Requires Using Force When Trapped In Place By Scar Tissue | 8/19/2021
• Bard IVC Filters Have Caused Severe Damage More Than 10% Of The Time | 8/14/2021
• A Fourth Jury Finds Bard IVC Filters Defective | 8/10/2021
• Patients With IVC Filters Should Contact Their Physicians Immediately | 12/21/2018
• Lawsuits Filed Across Wide Variety of IVC Filter Manufacturers | 12/18/2018
• IVC Filter Patients May Be Eligible to File A Claim Against CR Bard | 12/13/2018
• IVC Filter Manufacturers Profit When Patients Misinformed | 12/10/2018
• IVC Filter Litigation is Growing Every Day | 12/7/2018
• CR Bard Forced To Compensate Injured IVC Filter Patients | 11/27/2018
• Judge Confirms IVC Filter Malfunction and Punitive Damages Award | 8/31/2018
• Bellwether Trials Underway For Bard IVC Filters | 8/29/2018
• The Bard IVC Filter May Not Have Been Adequately Tested | 8/27/2018

No-Cost, No-Obligation Bard IVC Filter Lawsuit Case Review for Persons or Families of Persons Who Suffered from Organ Damage, Severe Bleeding, Stroke, or Death

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