Lawsuit Alleges Angiodynamics Vortex Chemo Port Catheter Broke During Removal

A New Jersey man has filed a lawsuit over problems with the AngioDynamics Vortex chemo port, indicating that the catheter broke when doctors tried to remove it, leaving behind debris that has migrated through his body, causing severe injuries.

The AngioDynamics Vortex port catheter system was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2003. It was originally called the Triumph VTX port and was created by Horizon Medical Products, which was later acquired by AngioDynamics. It allows long-term access to the vascular system to deliver medications, nutrients and treatments, such as chemotherapy, directly into a patient’s bloodstream.

While the AngioDynamics Vortex has been marketed as a safe and effective medical device, a number of lawsuits over the chemo port now allege that the system was defectively designed, creating a risk of failure, migration and infection injuries, due to materials used in the catheter that weaken the structural integrity of the devices.

The allegations are similar to those made in a series of Bard PowerPort lawsuits being pursued against C.R. Bard, each indicating that the chemo port is prone to fracturing, migrating and causing infections due to the breakdown of barium sulfate used during the manufacturing process.

Given nearly identical allegations raised in the complaints brought against Bard throughout the federal court system, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) decided to centralize all Bard PowerPort lawsuits in August 2023, transferring the claims to U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell, in the District of Arizona, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings as part of a federal MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

However, the AngioDynamics chemo port lawsuits are not included in this consolidation, and continue to be spread out in different U.S. District Courts nationwide.

AngioDynamics Vortex Lawsuits Could Also Be Centralized in MDL

Jeremy Matchett filed a new complaint (PDF) over the AngioDynamics Vortex port on September 24, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, indicating that a portion of his chemo port broke while doctors were attempting to remove it, and portions remained in his body for months, unbeknownst to him or his doctors

According to the lawsuit, Matchett had a previous port catheter removed and replaced with an AngioDynamics Vortex chemo port in August 2018, as part of his treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia.

In May 2023, doctors determined that the chemo port was no longer needed, and attempted to remove it. However, they found the device was difficult to remove, and a portion of the catheter broke off.

Healthcare professionals were unaware that the remaining fragments of the broken Vortex port remained in Matchett’s body until August 2023, when he began complaining of chest pain and palpitations whenever he lay on his left side. During treatment, a CT scan revealed that a fragment of the broken chemo port had migrated to his left brachiocephalic vein.

“Due to the location of the retained fragment and the risk to Plaintiff for an attempted removal of the fragment, the decision was made to leave the retained Vortex fragment in Plaintiff’s body,” the lawsuit states. “To date, the retained fragment of the Vortex remains in Plaintiff’s left brachiocephalic vein.”

Matchett presents claims of negligence, failure to warn, design defect, breach of warranty, fraudulent concealment and violations of Pennsylvania consumer protection laws, naming AngioDynamics Inc. and Navilyst Medical Inc. as the defendants.

The complaint was filed just two days before the JPML is set to hear oral arguments over whether to establish a separate MDL for all federal lawsuits over AngioDynamics port catheters.

Similar to the Bard PowerPort lawsuits, if an MDL is established, complaints brought against AngioDynamics in U.S. District Courts throughout the country will be transferred to one judge for discovery, pretrial proceedings and potentially a series of early bellwether trials. However, if the parties fail to reach an AngioDynamics port catheter settlement agreement or another resolution during the MDL proceedings, each lawsuit may be transferred back to their originating districts for individual trial dates in the future.