The importance of the IVC filter!
I just wanted to let everyone know thatt if your doctor requires you to get a IVC filter placed do not fight it. This is for your own good. I had Lap RNY on 5/13/05 came home 4 days later. I thought I was doing pretty well but when I went in for a 10 day check up I was short of breath and my heart was racing. I was sent for stat xrays and bloodwork but due to insurance took the rest of day to get it done. The doctors office called the next day and told me they wanted to admit me back in hospital. I went back in on the 24th and came home on the 30th. They found a DVT(blood clot) in my left leg. Thank god I have an IVC filter. Even with that they ran so many tests it was unbelievable. They did what they needed to make sure I was ok. I am now on coumadin a blood thinner and will be for a while I guess not sure how long. I wanted to let you know things can happen listen to your doctor do what you need to do to keep you healthy.
Linda R
I had a DVT in September, have been on coumadin since...June 18th is suppose to be my last day. My PCP said 9 months is the optimum length of time...most beneficial and no studies show a longer time on has any additional benefits. But I just found out my heart has an opening which allows crossover, so my neurologist might want me to stay on coumadin longer to reduce stroke risk...I have so much going on medically...but I was already going to start aspirin therapy after stopping the coumadin.
The IVC filter is placed in a large vein either in your neck or groin and it prevents blood clots from getting through. People who have a history or are at a high risk for clots often are required to get one placed before having surgery (which is a risk also). It's a preventative measure for higher risk patients. Patients at a normal risk, do not a filter but other precautions such as heprin shots and frequent walking are done to prevent clots.
I had a hysterectomy 1/5/04 and one week to the day after my surgery, I woke up in horrible pain and could barely breathe. I was rushed to the hospital and never even stopped at the waiting room. Within minutes I had thing in my arms and up my nose and was being wheeled for a CAT scan. I had a pulmonary embolism and was hospitalized for a week. Apparently the clots (yup, more than one) had already lodged in my lung. I was on coumadin therapy for 6 months. My surgeon has not said that I will have to have the filter for my bypass surgery but he did say that I am gonna be best friends with his pulmonary doc before it's all over! The IVC filter can be a very dangerous thing as well.They can slip and lodge where they don't belong and they are a bugger to place correctly. Often they are not placed correctly and there is nothing that can be done to fix it. They are "folded" up and inserted through an artery in your neck... my surgeon was explaining that often when they get to where they need to be they do not open up properly or they open before they are in place. UGH! I don't know what I am going to do yet. I will talk more to the pulmonary doc and surgeon, with my hubby and God and then decide I guess.
Sallykate
Over two years ago my surgeon started requiring all his patients with a BMI over 40 or that have other risk to get an IVC filter. So in probably over 200 patients getting the filter so far I am aware of only a few minor problems, mostly from a little discomfort at the site of the filter insertion. They now use a temporary filter that can be removed. I had a temporary one inserted in January of this year and have had no problems what so ever. I haven't decided if I'll have it removed or not. But I will certainly wait until after I've reached my goal weight and had plastic surgery.
Janice
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