A comparative study of thoracoscopic sympathectomy for the treatment of hand sweating

Primary hyperhidrosis (PH) is a disease with the primary symptoms being excessive sweating in the palms as well as in the armpits and pedals that are not secondary to metabolic disease (such as hyperthyroidism and hypermetabolism) or other systemic disease. It can have a severe negative impact on patients’ work and daily life (1). In recent years, with the development of thoracoscopic minimally invasive surgery (2), thoracoscopic bilateral sympathectomy has been proven to be a safe and effective treatment (3). However, some patients suffer a common complication after surgery, namely compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH). It has been found that the occurrence of CH has a close relationship with the plane of sympathectomy. Specifically, the lower the plane is, the less likely CH is to occur (4-6). Currently, there is extensive clinical research exploring the treatment of PH to minimize postoperative complications and improve patients’ satisfaction. Here, we report a comparative study of thoracoscopic T3 and T4 sympathectomy for the treatment of hand sweating, where 192 patients from December 2010 to October 2014 underwent thoracoscopic bilateral sympathectomy and achieved satisfactory results