Retroperitoneal caval filter as a source of abdominal pain.

A patient with a Mobin-Uddin vena caval filter placed 10 years earlier was referred with abdominal pain, nausea, anorexia and weight loss. Diagnostic studies confirmed that the filter was in an extracaval position in the retroperitoneum, with the filter struts impinging on the right kidney, duodenum and colon. Following surgical removal of the filter the patient is now symptom-free with good appetite and weight gain.