Clinical outcome of perioperative nonpermanent vena cava filter placement in patients with deep venous thrombosis or blood stasis of the vein.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the recent clinical experience with nonpermanent inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement preoperatively, especially with regard to patients who had deep venous thrombosis (DVT) due to compression by a tumor or an aneurysm.

METHODS

Preoperative prophylactic IVC filter placement was performed between October 2002 and March 2008 in 48 of 83 patients who underwent IVC filter placement. IVC filter placement was performed preoperatively in 35 of the 48 patients due to DVT located distally in an iliac vein or due to IVC compression by a tumor or aneurysm. This study examined the early and mid-term outcomes resulting from nonpermanent IVC filter placement.

RESULTS

The mean implantation period was 11.1 +/- 9.3 days (range, 3-56 days). Three patients (8.6%) experienced minor complications during the IVC filter placement. A thrombus was captured in the filter in 4 patients (8.8%). One patient in whom the filter was left as a permanent filter died during the follow-up period. No patient experienced any pulmonary embolus during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSION

Nonpermanent IVC filter insertion is perioperatively useful in surgical procedures that eliminate the compression of the vein by an excision of either the tumor or aneurysm compressing the vein.