Introduction/Study Goals: Thoracic sympathectomy is considered to be the most effective treatment for hyperhidrosis, a procedure traditionally performed under general anesthesia. Nowadays it's a minimally invasive procedure, which makes it possible to perform under sedation with local anesthesia. The goal in this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of this anesthetic technique in video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy.
Material and methods: The study took place in Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, between June 2017 and September 2019. The anesthetic technique consisted in a propofol infusion titrated to achieve a moderate to deep sedation, in addition to local anesthesia with lidocaine 2% and ropivacaine 0,75% on surgical incisions. All patients were assessed subsequently for pain and anesthetic or surgical complications, with a 30-day follow-up.
Results: From a final sample of 63 patients, most were female (70%), with age ranging between 15 and 57 years old. There were no intra-operative complications. On the immediate postoperative period there were only two cases of poorly controlled pain.
Conclusion: Results showed efficiency and safety with sedation associated with local anaesthesia as an anaesthetic technique for video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy. This anaesthetic approach avoids possible complications associated with general anaesthesia and one lung ventilation, with good analgesic efficacy. However, there is still the need for a bigger sample to confirm the obtained results and to strengthen sedation as an anesthetic approach in thoracic sympathectomy.