Phlegmasia caerulea dolens in a patient with an inferior vena cava filter: treatment of massive iliocaval thrombosis using local intravenous catheter-directed thrombolysis.

Phlegmasia caerulea dolens (PCD) is a potentially disastrous complication of inferior vena cava filter insertion, and its optimum management has not been clearly established. We present a case report of a patient with pulmonary embolism and acute adrenal haemorrhage who developed PCD secondary to massive iliocaval thrombosis after insertion of a Cook Celect removable filter. Local intravenous catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT), followed by systemic anticoagulation, achieved limb salvage and virtual resolution of symptoms at 3 months without complications. CDT can be a successful primary treatment of filter-associated PCD and can be safe in selected patients with acute nontraumatic haemorrhage. Systemic anticoagulation may subsequently restore complete venous patency and may therefore be a useful approach to postthrombolysis management of residual iliocaval thrombus when filter removal is indicated.