Endobronchial forceps effective in retrieval of tip-embedded inferior vena cava (IVC) filters
Thursday, January 15, 2015 - 04:04
in Health & Medicine
When retrievable inferior vena cava (IVC) filters were approved for use in the United States in 2003 to prevent pulmonary embolism among patients unable to receive the standard blood thinner treatment, many experts anticipated most of them would be removed when no longer needed and IVC filter complications would decrease. Instead, the number of IVC filters placed has more than doubled in the last 10 years, and by some estimates, less than half of these retrievable devices are actually removed each year.