Objective:

Acute iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a serious venous thrombotic disorder with potentially morbid post-thrombotic sequelae. The purpose of this report is to present our single-centre evolution of technique and the results of catheter-directed thrombolysis for the treatment of acute iliofemoral DVT, and put it into perspective with current literature.

Patients and methods:

Between May 1988 and April 2000, 54 patients were treated with catheter-directed thrombolysis for occlusive iliofemoral and vena caval thrombosis. Average age was 45 years (range 17-68 years) and the duration of leg symptoms was 5.2 days (range 2-30 days). Routine vena caval filters were not used, although caval filters were inserted in patients with irregular and non-occlusive vena caval thrombus. Initially, urokinase infusion via a right jugular vein and/or contralateral femoral vein approach was used, delivering a 250000-500000 U bolus followed by continuous infusion of 250000-300000 LVh. Catheter delivery has evolved to an ultrasound-guided popliteal or posterior tibial vein puncture and the use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator at a bolus dose of 4–8 mg followed by 2–4 mg/h. All patients received heparin infusion at 500-1000 U/h.

Results:

Fifty-one of the 54 patients had successful catheter positioning. Forty-five (83%) had a successful outcome. Of those that failed, 2 were treated with a known chronic occlusion and in 2 patients plasminogen deficiency was suspected. Two patients had persistent iliac vein lesions which led to early re-thrombosis. Overall, 14 (26%) were asymptomatic, 28 (52%) demonstrated moderate improvement, 6 (11%) showed mild improvement and 6 (11%) had no clinical improvement. Serious complications occurred in 5 patients (9%). Four (7%) required blood transfusion and 1 (2%) required operative evacuation of an inguinal haematoma with repair of the common femoral vein. Eight patients (15%) developed a puncture site haematoma and 1 patient (2%) had a guidewire perforation of the common femoral vein.

Conclusions:

Catheter-directed thrombolysis is the preferred treatment for symptomatic iliofemoral DVT. Following successful lysis, residual iliac vein lesions should be corrected with balloon angioplasty and stenting if necessary. Considering the current results and those of contemporary series, a successful outcome can be anticipated in 80-85% of patients, with a significant improvement in quality of life when compared with standard anticoagulation.