Long-term outcomes associated to video-assisted thoracic sympathotomy for palmar-axillar subtype of the hyperhidrosis

OBJECTIVE: Surgery for both palmar and axillar hyperhidrosis usually includes the interruption of the sympathetic chain in multiple levels. This study aimed to determine the long-term outcomes associated to video-assisted thoracic sympathotomy (VATS) of T2, T3 and T4 ganglia for these cases. METHODS...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Leandro Pretto Flores
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO) 2012-06-01
Series:Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2012000600003&lng=en&tlng=en
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Summary:OBJECTIVE: Surgery for both palmar and axillar hyperhidrosis usually includes the interruption of the sympathetic chain in multiple levels. This study aimed to determine the long-term outcomes associated to video-assisted thoracic sympathotomy (VATS) of T2, T3 and T4 ganglia for these cases. METHODS: Analysis of the outcomes obtained from 36 patients regarding the rate of resolution of the symptoms and the compensatory sweating (CS). All subjects were followed-up for 36 months. RESULTS: Good outcomes were observed in 98.6% for palmar and 60% for axillary hyperhidrosis (p=0.0423), respectively. Of the subjects, 86% reported some postoperative episode of CS, however only 45% (p=0.0031) still noticed it at the end of the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: VATS is effective for the excessive palmar sweating, whereas it is fully efficient for only two thirds of the cases sustaining associated axillar hyperhidrosis. CS is expected as a rule following the proposed operative protocol, however it is usually self-limited.
ISSN:1678-4227