Q&A

What is a Greenfield filter used for?

What is a Greenfield filter used for?

An IVC filter is one method to help prevent pulmonary embolism. Your inferior vena cava (IVC) is the major vein that brings oxygen-poor blood from the lower body back to the heart. The heart then pumps the blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. An IVC filter is a small, wiry device.

Is a Greenfield filter an IVC filter?

The Greenfield filter has been on the market the longest, it is the most extensively evaluated filter, and it has become the criterion standard with which other IVC filters are compared. (See the image below.)

How long is a Greenfield filter good for?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends removing temporary IVC filters after 29-54 days. While this is not very long, it should provide enough time for the acute threat to pass or to find another solution that can work on a long-term basis.

Can a Greenfield filter get clogged?

Yes, an Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filter can get clogged with a blood clot. The clot can cause painful swelling in your legs and other extremities.

Do Greenfield filters need to be removed?

According to the FDA and Radiological Society of North America IVC filters should be removed once the danger of a life-threatening clot is over. Although the procedure to remove the filter is also minimally-invasive, removing the device may be challenging especially after prolonged dwell times.

Is Greenfield filter MRI compatible?

They conclude that, while most Greenfield filters respond to a magnetic field, the chance of migration of a filter because of an MRI scan is small. Therefore, MRI scanning of patients with Greenfield filters has little risk.

Should a Greenfield filter be removed?

When should an IVC filter be removed? It is recommended that a removable filter be removed when the risk of a blood clot traveling to the lungs has passed, or if a patient can take blood thinners.

Are Greenfield filters MRI safe?

What type of doctor removes an IVC filter?

This removal may be performed when the risk of clot travelling to the lung has passed. This should be assessed by a physician or the interventional radiologist who inserted the IVC filter sometime after placement, ideally less than six months after insertion.

Are Greenfield IVC filters MRI safe?

IVC filters are generally safe during MRIs, but the devices do have a history of complications as recorded in studies, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and in anecdotal tales from thousands of patients.

Is a Greenfield Filter MRI safe?

What kind of filter is a Greenfield filter?

What is a Greenfield Filter? Inferior vena cava filters otherwise known as IVCs are medical miracles. These tiny devices can be installed into a large vein in the body known as the inferior vena cava in order to help stop as well as prevent blockages from traveling through the blood stream.

How does the filter function work in Excel?

The FILTER function will return an array, which will spill if it’s the final result of a formula. This means that Excel will dynamically create the appropriate sized array range when you press ENTER .

Why do you need the Greenfield lung filter?

Pulmonary embolism can be life threatening because the body’s oxygen supply can be cut off. The Greenfield Filter is permanently implanted in the vena cava where it prevents pulmonary embolism by capturing blood clots (emboli) before they can be transported to the lung.

Where is the Greenfield filter inserted in the IVC?

Depending on the location of the blood clots, the catheter (thin tube) is inserted via the large vein in the groin (femoral vein), arm veins or the large neck vein (internal jugular vein). The catheter is guided to the Inferior Vena Cava by a fluoroscope or ultrasound, after which the Greenfield Filter is inserted and attached to the IVC walls.