Ramaiah Venkatesh, Del Santo Peter B, Rodriguez-Lopez Julio A, Gowda Ramesh G, Perkowski Paul E, Diethrich Edward B
Department of Cardiovascular and Endovascular Surgery, Arizona Heart Institute and Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona 85006, USA.
J Endovasc Ther. 2003 Jun;10(3):585-9. doi: 10.1177/152660280301000326.
To describe the use of a new percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy device to clear thrombus from the iliofemoral vein.
A 52-year-old woman with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presented to the emergency room with a posterior tibial vein deep vein thrombosis and a greater saphenous vein thrombosis. Heparin therapy caused the clot to propagate into the iliofemoral vein. Catheter-directed thrombolysis for 36 hours with 24 units of reteplase failed to clear the clot. The Trellis Thrombectomy System, a new percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy device, was used to deliver a low dose of reteplase into the clot. Complete clot lysis was achieved in 45 minutes using only 5 units of reteplase. The patient's symptoms resolved completely, and she continues to be asymptomatic at 6 months with no evidence of residual clot on duplex scans.
The Trellis device may be used to rapidly clear thrombus from the iliofemoral vein with a low dose of thrombolytic agent.
