A dialysis access is made by surgically bridging an artery directly to a vein, which is not a normal physiological state.
Blood that should flow from the heart to the fingers passes partway through the fistula site in the upper arm or forearm.
Part of the blood goes into the dialysis access, so less blood reaches the fingers.
It is as if the blood that should reach the fingers is “stolen,” which is called steal syndrome.
When blood flow to the distal fingers is insufficient, symptoms of varying severity appear.
Mild symptoms such as numbness of the hand can be relieved with medication or warm compresses.
Severe symptoms such as intense pain, or even ischemic necrosis of the fingers, may require early vascular surgery to improve blood flow to the distal fingers.
