My mother is having a lot of pain in her hand
after her fistula surgery about a month ago.
I think they said she had steel syndrome. What does anyone know about this? Is it permanent? Her thumb area is blue and her hand is really painful.
Thanks,

Dear Ekleberry,

Steal Syndrome usually occurs if there is inflow restriction proximal to the access site and if the patient has some degree of arterial occlusive disease(stenosed arterial circulation). This usually leads to a cold hand with numbness and pain in the fingers while the patient is being dialyzed. A Doppler flow test may be useful in helping to diagnose this problem. In any case, your mother should discuss these symptoms with her Nephrologist. He may refer her back to the surgeon who placed her access. If symptoms are severe, a band can be placed around the graft to restrict flow, or graft ligation with placement of a new graft. I hope that this information is useful to you and to your mother.
Good luck,
Nancy