Percutaneous transvenous caval interruption with the "LGM" filter: early results of a multicenter trial

From September 1985 to December 1986, 100 patients undergoing percutaneous placement of a transvenous "LGM" caval filter were included in a multicenter prospective trial. Peripheral venograms completed by pulmonary arteriography or scintigraphy were obtained for all patients. Eighty-five patients had experienced pulmonary embolism, 59 had iliocaval thrombosis, while 40 had venous thrombosis confined to the lower limbs. In two instances, insertion or passage of the catheter was impossible. Ninety-eight "LGM" filters were placed percutaneously through the internal jugular vein, 82 of which were correctly positioned in the infrarenal inferior vena cava. Eight filters were positioned with a tilt of more than 15 degrees with respect to the vertical axis, five failed to open correctly, and three were incompletely open and tilted. No postoperative deaths were observed; there were two recurrent embolisms, and seven caval thromboses occurred during the year that followed insertion of the filter. The "user-friendliness" and efficacy of this percutaneous filter makes it a treatment of choice in the partial interruption of the inferior vena cava.