Abstract
We report a 63 year-old woman suffering from subclavian steal syndrome (SSS) due to severe stenosis of the left proximal subclavian artery. Her cheif complaint was dizziness when exercising her left arm. A difference in blood pressure between the two arms was the only abnormal physical finding. The reversed blood flow of the left vertebral artery was detected by Duplex ultrasonography examination (Duplex). She was treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for the stenosis of her left subclavian artery and the stenosis was improved.
But after 6 months she complained of the same symptom and we found by Duplex that her left vertebral artery blood flow was poor. We followed up her left vertebral artery blood flow using Duplex. Her left vertebral blood flow was reduced and the flow reversed. So we performed PTA again without any complication and the SSS was treated. She has had no re-stenosis since the second PTA.
Duplex is found to be a rapid, safe and accurate method for confirming clinically suspected SSS.
PTA can be repeated and is found to be an effective treatment for SSS due to subclavian stenosis.
