Sequential Extended Thoracoscopic Sympathicotomy for Palmo-Axillo-Plantar Hyperhidrosis

Abstract

Background: Palmo-axillo-plantar hyperhidrosis (HH) exists in approximately 70% to 100% of patients complaining of HH. Many studies have documented variable effects of thoracoscopic sympathicotomy (TS) on plantar sweating. The present trial evaluated sequential extended thoracoscopic sympathicotomy for the treatment of palmo-axillo-plantar HH regarding its feasibility and outcome on each domain of HH, particularly the plantar domain METHODS: Forty-two patients with severe palmo-axillo-plantar HH underwent sequential extended (T3 to T12) thoracoscopic sympathicotomy. Improvement in HH was assessed using visual analog scale and iodine-starch test, and quality of life was evaluated using the Keller quality of life questionnaire preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively.

Results: Included were 16 men and 26 women with a mean age of 24.3 ± 5.3 years. The average preoperative VAS for the palmar, axillary, and plantar HH was 9 ± 0.66, which declined significantly (p < 0.0001) at 24 months of follow-up to a mean of 0.74 ± 0.4 for the palmar and axillary domains and to 1.26 ± 0.7 for plantar HH. Improvement in quality of life was observed in all patients at 24 months of follow-up as the overall median score decreased from 120.5 to 3.5.

Conclusions: Sequential extended thoracoscopic sympathicotomy proved to be an effective method for the treatment of combined HH because it achieved satisfactory and sustained improvement of palmar, axillary, and plantar sweating. Although the benefits of sequential extended thoracoscopic sympathicotomy outweigh its drawbacks and technical difficulties, further prospective studies are required to ascertain the effectiveness of this new technique.