Upper limb ischemia after vascular access surgery: differential diagnosis and management

Hand ischemia following placement of upper limb arteriovenous accesses for dialysis may result in debilitating complications and contribute to morbidity and mortality on dialysis. Two distinct clinical variants of hand ischemia are recognized: vascular steal syndrome, in which a spectrum of severity of ischemic changes affect all tissues of the hand; and ischemic monomelic neuropathy, where ischemia is confined to the nerves of the hand. Early diagnosis and treatment of these complications (often including closure of the access) is imperative to prevent hand paralysis, and digital or hand amputation.