Hyperhidrosis Surgical Treatments

Hyperhidrosis is a common condition, which causes excessive sweating in either localized areas such as the hands, face, armpits and feet, or increased sweating all over the body. Hyperhidrosis is thought to be triggered by over activity of the sympathetic nervous system and can be a genetic condition.

Excessive sweating is an uncontrollable condition, and can sometimes occur as a result of triggers such as spicy food or emotional distress, but can equally occur randomly, when no obvious reasons can be identified. It can have both severe physiological and psychological symptoms such as dehydration, and skin infections (due to the maceration and weakening of the skin’s surface), social withdrawal and depression. People who suffer from excessive sweating often have to modify their lifestyles to work around their condition, and this can have a huge impact on their professional and private lives. Those that suffer from excessive sweating on their hands for example can find it difficult to perform even the most basic tasks, such as writing, cooking and even putting on their clothes.

Fortunately there are many treatments available for hyperhidrosis suffers, and these range from over the counter antiperspirants that can help temporarily block sweat glands, to surgical procedures that can give a more permanent result.

Surgical treatments for hyperhidrosis include Endoscopic Transthoracic Sympathectomy. This is performed under a general anesthetic, and usually lasts about an hour. Small instruments are used to make miniscule incisions, and the surgeon will use tiny cameras to locate the sympathetic nerve chain in the torso and then use an endoscopic instrument to divide the sympathetic nerves and remove those responsible for sweating in particular areas such as armpits or hands. This cannot be performed for excessive foot sweating as it has been proven to carry a risk of impairing sexual function. Because of the microscopic incisions scarring is minimal and recovery time is very short, most people being able to return to work within a few days. There are some side effects to this surgery, most commonly an increase in sweating in other parts of the body such as the chest, thighs and back and some people can experience gustatory sweating, which means they tend to sweat while eating or smelling particular foods. If this procedure is carried out for facial sweating, then there is a risk of Horner Syndrome, which can cause drooping eyelids, and dryness of the eyes. Also some people have reported a light weakness in hand motor skills following this type of surgery for excessive hand sweating.

Another surgical procedure for the treatment for hyperhidrosis is ‘Retrodermal Curettage’. This involves a full removal of the sweat glands in specific areas such as the armpits. This operation can be carried out under local anesthetic and patients can usually return to work within a few days. A small incision is made in the affected area (normally the armpits) and an implement is used to gently scrape away the sweat glands. An antibiotic ointment is applied and then the area is dressed. The benefit of this surgery is that after a single treatment in most cases excessive sweating is permanently stopped, although it is common for a more normal level of sweating to return to the area after around 6 months. There are some side effects that can be experienced, but these are mostly linked to the treated area only. You may find a slight scarring of the treated skin, in the form of hardening or discoloration, and in some cases people experience minor infections which will need postoperative treatment.