Steal syndrome of the hemodialysis vascular access: Diagnosis and treatment

PURPOSE: Steal syndrome is an uncommon but serious condition of arterial insufficiency distal to a permanent hemodialysis fistula. The management of the condition is a great challenge to the surgeon because of the conflicting goals of preserving the fistula and treat the ischemia. In this review the purpose was to analyze the clinical problem and treatment possibilities. METHODS: Medline and Embase databases were searched for studies relevant to diagnosis and management of steal syndrome of the hemodialysis vascular access. RESULTS: The diagnosis of steal syndrome is largely based on clinical features and non-invasive studies. In same cases angiography may be necessary to find out the real causes of the steal syndrome. The cause is usually high fistula flow but other causes as steal phenomenon, inflow, outflow or anastomotic stenosis have to be considered and even combination of causes. The main treatment options are some form of flow reducing procedure or the distal revascularization interval ligation method. In some cases simple distal arterial ligation is the method of choice. Furthermore, in some patients a stenosis has to be treated as the first treatment option. CONCLUSIONS: For an appropriate treatment of a steal syndrome a careful analysis of the cause is important.