Greenfield filter: percutaneous placement in 50 patients

Greenfield filters for prevention of pulmonary emboli may be placed in the inferior vena cava by surgical cutdown or by percutaneous insertion through the femoral or jugular veins. We evaluated the use of the percutaneous techniques 52 times in 50 patients. The right femoral vein was used in 37 of the procedures, the right internal jugular vein in 12, and the left femoral vein in three. Twenty-two patients had altered coagulation factors: 11 were receiving heparin, four were receiving warfarin sodium, six had hepatic cirrhosis, and one had disseminated intravascular coagulation and had been receiving warfarin sodium. Filter placement was successful in 51 of 52 procedures. In the unsuccessful case, placement was attempted via the left femoral vein; the carrier could not be advanced from the common iliac vein to the inferior vena cava. This patient required surgical occlusion of the cava. There was one major complication, a hematoma in the right side of the groin that required transfusion. This occurred in the patient with disseminated intravascular coagulation who had extensive scarring from multiple previous vascular surgical procedures. Two patients required second filters because of severe angulation of the filter found 1 and 4 days after implantation. Clinical thrombosis of the femoral vein after femoral vein access occurred in two (5%) of 40 patients and was proved by venogram in one. Our experience shows that the percutaneous method is highly successful and suggests that this technique should be the primary method for filter placement in the inferior vena cava.