Dorsal Sympathicotomy for Hyperhidrosis

Christopher G. Compeau

Key Points

  • Primary hyperhidrosis involves excessive sweating from the hands, axillae or feet
  • Craniofacial sweating or blushing is a rare subset of primary hyperhidrosis
  • A variety of medical and surgical therapies exist depending on the location of the excessive sweating
  • Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) is an excellent surgical technique to permanently abolish palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis
  • Intraoperative identification of visual and tactile landmarks helps to identify the sympathetic chain
  • The level at which the sympathetic nerve is clipped/divided is determined by the preoperative patient symptomatology

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Last updated: December 6, 2022