Surgical Treatment of Acute Deep Venous Thrombosis

In patients with venous thrombotic disease and in whom anticoagulation or thrombolytic therapy is inappropriate, ineffective, or even contraindicated, insertion of vena caval filters or venous thrombectomy must be considered. The primary indication for the placement of vena caval filters is in patients who have developed a pulmonary embolus and in whom anticoagulation is either contraindicated or in whom anticoagulation must be discontinued because of the development of bleeding complications. At the present time, either the Greenfield filter placed through a jugular, femoral, or axillary venotomy or the bird's nest filter are appropriate and appear to be the most effective and least fraught with complications. The use of venous thrombectomy has waxed and waned over the last several decades. At the present time, the procedure is advocated mainly for lower limb venous thrombosis which is extensive enough to threaten limb viability. On occasion, it may be appropriate to extend the indications for venous thrombectomy to include femoral thrombosis of less than 10 days duration or iliac thrombosis of less than 3 weeks duration with floating thrombi at the level. Technical modifications which improve the patency of the obliterated veins which are predisposed to rethrombosis include the creation of a temporary arteriovenous fistula and meticulous care in removing the entire clot. The patient should be treated with anticoagulants postoperatively to prevent a recurrence of the problem. The main theoretical advantage of venous thrombectomy is a reduced incidence of postthrombotic syndrome. Objective data to support this contention do not exist.