Long-term results of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for upper limb hyperhidrosis

More and more patients with severe palmar hyperhidrosis (HH) are referred to the surgeon for endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS). The dramatic efficiency of surgery on hand sweating hasmade ETS popular among patients and physicians. Complications such as Horner’s syndrome (HS) or adverse effects such as compensatory sweating (CS) have been reported, but according to most authors are supposed to vanish with time [1–3] and are sometimes considered as a minor drawback. However, very few studies do report a long-term follow-up [4] because following these patients is difficult. They are usually young, thus relocate frequently, and do not see the need for surgical control once they have been treated. When patients are seen 1 or 2 months after surgery, they are usually amazed by the result. Thus, some consequences of the operation remain in the background, for example, postoperative pain or hand dryness. Conversely, side effects like CS are often not perceived. Evaluating the global result of the operation is therefore difficult.
The aim of this study was to check whether patients, after some years, were satisfied or dissatisfied in terms of efficiency and side effects. The study did not aim at dealing with the initial results and postoperative complications that have been recently reported in this journal [5].

Link to Study