Abstract:Background and Aims Elderly patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are at high risk for bleeding and often have limited therapeutic options with conventional anticoagulation or thrombolytic therapy. Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) enables rapid thrombus removal while reducing thrombolytic drug exposure; however, its clinical efficacy and safety in elderly patients with acute inferior vena cava and/or iliofemoral DVT remain to be clarified. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of PMT in this patient population.Methods Clinical data of 70 elderly patients (≥65 years) with acute inferior vena cava and/or iliofemoral DVT treated with PMT between January 2017 and December 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent inferior vena cava filter implantation prior to PMT. AngioJet or Straub Aspirex systems were used, with adjunctive endovascular procedures including manual aspiration thrombectomy (MAT), catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT), balloon angioplasty, and stent implantation as indicated. Technical success, thrombus clearance, perioperative complications, filter retrieval outcomes, and 1-year follow-up results-including recurrence, post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), and target vein patency-were assessed.Results PMT was successfully performed in all patients, yielding a technical success rate of 100%. The overall thrombus clearance success rate (grade Ⅱ+Ⅲ) was 88.57%. No symptomatic pulmonary embolism occurred. Major bleeding was observed in 1.43% of patients, minor bleeding in 5.71%, and hemoglobinuria in 15.71%, all of which resolved with appropriate management. Filter retrieval was attempted in 62 patients, with a 100% success rate and a median dwell time of 58.5 (20-84.25) d. At 1-year follow-up, the recurrence rate was 2.86%, the incidence of PTS was 21.43%, and the target vein patency rate was 82.86%.Conclusion PMT combined with individualized adjunctive endovascular therapy is a safe and effective treatment option for elderly patients with acute inferior vena cava and/or iliofemoral DVT, achieving satisfactory thrombus clearance with acceptable complication rates.