Restoring Venous Patency with the ClotTriever Following Deep Vein Thrombosis

Although randomized data remain inconclusive, invasive endovenous therapy is increasingly favored in patients with extensive iliocaval or iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to reduce the rates of postthrombotic syndrome. Previously, pharmacomechanical thrombectomy was the therapy of choice, but the Inari ClotTriever device is an appealing, purely mechanical, alternative. It may reduce bleeding risk, intensive care unit admission, and the need for multiple procedures when compared with traditional thrombolysis. We present a series of 18 patients treated with the ClotTriever for extensive iliocaval or iliofemoral DVT.

The Inari ClotTriever is a percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy system consisting of an expandable nitinol collection bag that is dragged along the vein wall, separating and capturing thrombus for collection into the retrieval sheath. We retrospectively reviewed all patients undergoing ClotTriever thrombectomy since the device became available at our quaternary referral center in June 2019. The review of these patients' records was determined to be exempt by our institutional review board.

Eighteen patients underwent ClotTriever thrombectomy between June 2019 and November 2021. Most patients (N = 16, 89%) presented within 2 weeks of symptom onset, and identifiable provoking factors were present in all patients. The most common provoking factor was anatomy, with May-Thurner syndrome present in 8 patients. All patients had restoration of unimpeded venous flow in the treated segments, although 3 had some residual nonflow limiting thrombus. There were no bleeding events or repeat venous procedures. The median postprocedure length of stay of 2 days. Postoperative venous imaging was performed in 15 patients and showed patency of the treated segment in 14 patients. Revised Clinical Venous Severity Scores were available in 14 patients during the course of follow-up. Of these, 9 patients' highest scores were 0, 2 patients' highest scores were 2, 2 patients' highest scores were 4, and 1 patient had a high score of 8.

Venous flow was re-established in all 18 patients treated with the ClotTriever in this series, with no bleeding complications, and median postprocedure length of stay of 2 days. All patients with available follow-up, except 1, retained patency of the treated venous segments, and most had mild postthrombotic syndrome or none at all. These findings suggest that the ClotTriever is a safe and effective way to treat extensive iliocaval/femoral DVT.