Recurrent fracture of a recovery inferior vena cava filter with pulmonary migration.
Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are indicated in patients with venous thromboembolic disease in whom standard anticoagulation therapy is contraindicated or ineffective. A 32-year-old female presented to our hospital with chest pain 5 years after IVC filter placement. Imaging revealed sequential fracturing and embolization of two of the IVC filter arms to the pulmonary arteries. IVC filter fracture and subsequent migration to the lung is a rare complication. Systematic long-term follow-up in patients with IVC filters and, if possible, filter removal should be considered to prevent possible complications.
Department of Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA. jvossen1@jhmi.edu
Josephina Anna
JA
Vossen
Shrey Kumar
SK
Thawait
Jennifer Susan
JS
Golia
Murthy
M
Chamarthy
Walter
W
Cholewczynski
Noel
N
Velasco
D000328:Adult; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D012008:Recurrence; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016306:Vena Cava Filters / Q000009:adverse effects*