Consumer Safety Watch

If not removed within 30-45 days, a dangerously high rate of so-called retrievable IVC filters, generally implanted to prevent pulmonary embolisms, experience complications that can lead to additional medical procedures, serious injury and death, and the risk generally outweighs any benefit, according to Ford and Associates Nationwide Legal Services.

The controversial devices are linked to at least 27 deaths and over 300 additional injuries. Many devices can become difficult or impossible to retrieve if left in for more than 30-45 days after implant.

Transvaginal mesh has been plagued by reports of devastating injuries among women who received the implants to treat pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, and to date, close to 80,000 lawsuits have been consolidated in six multidistrict litigations against mesh manufacturers like C.R. Bard, Coloplast, Ethicon, Boston Scientific and American Medical Systems.

A new product liability lawsuit brought on behalf of a Mississippi man alleges that side effects of the Bard Eclipse inferior vena cava (IVC) filter caused him to experience serious injuries when the filter tilted out of position and perforated his vena cava.