Vascular Steal Phenomenon in Lower Limb due to Reactive Hyperemia in Contralateral Limb: A Case Series and an Explanation of a Rare Phenomenon Using Continuity Equation

Abstract

In this series of three cases, we describe the vascular steal phenomenon in an otherwise normal lower limb secondary to hyperemia in the contralateral lower limb. In each of the cases, post-inflammatory hyperemia in the involved lower limb was associated with a significant reduction in blood flow in the contralateral normal lower limb. We attempt to explain the imaging findings in these three cases using the equation of continuity in fluid dynamics. To the best of our knowledge, a description of such kind is unavailable in the published literature.