An estimated 3 percent of the world population, or about 197 million people suffer from some form of hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), many of whom do not receive proper diagnosis or treatment.
Hyperhidrosis is a medical condition in which the body sweats three to four times the normal amount. This can lead to undue embarrassment, social and psychological problems, and in the most severe cases, impede normal day-to-day functions. The exact cause of hyperhidrosis is unknown, but researchers have linked it to over activity of the nerves that send signals to the sweat glands in the skin.
This condition typically affects any of the following areas: the palms (palmar hyperhidrosis), the underarms (axillary hyperhidrosis), the face (facial hyperhidrosis), or the feet (plantar hyperhidrosis). Treatment for hyperhidrosis depends on the area of the body affected, but in general consists of the following options: topical and oral medications, iontophoresis, botulinum toxin (Botox) injections, and when these nonsurgical options have proven ineffective – surgery.
Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix analyzed the outcome of 300 consecutive patients undergoing bilateral sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis between May 1996 and April 2005. One hundred and twenty-nine patients presented with palmar hyperhidrosis, 11 with axillary hyperhidrosis, and 160 with both axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis. The mean age of patients was 27.9. Average follow-up was 10.3 months (range 0.5-36) and obtained either in the clinic, by phone or by written questionnaire.
The results of this study, Biportal Thoracoscopic Sympathectomy for Hyperhidrosis: Experience with 300 Patients, will be presented by Gregory Lekovic, MD, PhD, JD, 5:00 to 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, during the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in Washington, D.C. Co-authors are Scott Wait, MD, Kathy J. Kenny, RN, MS, and Curtis A. Dickman, MD.
Advances in technology now enable sympathectomy surgery to be performed thorascopically, using a minimally invasive procedure in which a tiny fiberoptic camera and small surgical instruments are inserted through three small incisions (usually less than half an inch). The nerves that cause the excessive sweating are identified by the camera and then cut. After one side is completed, the identical procedure is performed on the opposite side. In the 300 patients in this research study, the following outcomes were noted: