Does the Sweating Severity of Primary Hyperhidrosis Sites Affect Post-Sympathotomy Results?

Area of Science:

• Thoracic surgery
• Dermatology
• Quality of Life research

Background:

• Endoscopic thoracic sympathotomy (ETS) is a treatment for primary hyperhidrosis.
• Patient outcomes like quality of life (QOL) and satisfaction after ETS can vary.
• The impact of preoperative sweating severity on these outcomes is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if the severity of sweating before ETS influences QOL and patient satisfaction post-surgery.
• To determine the relationship between preoperative primary hyperhidrosis severity score (PHSS) and postoperative results.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 112 patients who underwent bilateral ETS.
• Patients categorized into three groups based on PHSS (1-4, 5-8, ≥9).
• Analysis of QOL, clinical improvement, reflex sweating (RS), and patient satisfaction at 6 months post-surgery.

Main Results:

• Higher preoperative PHSS correlated with worse baseline QOL.
• Over 91% experienced QOL improvement and 96% showed clinical improvement.
• Reflex sweating (RS) occurred in 80% of patients, primarily on the back.
• Overall patient satisfaction exceeded 95% across all groups.
• No significant differences in postoperative outcomes were observed between PHSS groups.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative sweating severity does not affect outcomes after ETS for primary hyperhidrosis.
• Surgeons can be reassured when considering ETS for patients with severe hyperhidrosis.
• ETS offers significant QOL improvement and high patient satisfaction irrespective of initial sweating intensity.