Steal syndrome is a vascular disorder characterized by the inappropriate alterations of blood flow through adjacent collateral blood vessels to compensate for ischemia in organs with severely reduced or lost blood flow. The result may lead to dysfunction or ischemia of the end organs supplied by the collateral vessels. A 76-year-old man presented with a recurring, transient right-sided amaurosis that lasted about 30 min when drinking and mastication during meals. Carotid ultrasound and angiography showed severe stenosis of the right common carotid artery, and retrograde flow of the right external carotid artery via a collateral branch from the right vertebral artery. After drinking and mastication, steal syndrome from the right internal carotid artery to the external carotid artery were observed in real time by ultrasound. After percutaneous angioplasty for stenosis, the anastomosis from the vertebral artery to the external carotid artery, and the retrograde flow of the external carotid artery disappeared, and amaurosis improved during mastication and drinking. We found that drinking and mastication caused a phenomenon of blood theft from the internal carotid artery to the external carotid artery in common carotid artery stenosis. It is important to recognize the clinical presentation of these patients, because this condition is potentially reversible once identified with a proper evaluation and appropriate surgical intervention applied.
Keywords: Carotid artery stenosis; Case report; Steal syndrome; Stroke; Ultrasound.
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