Endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy/sympathotomy (ETS) is the first-line treatment for palmar hyperhidrosis with best minimally invasive effect. In recent years, with the widespread development of ETS in the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis, many medical centers list ETS surgery as the day surgery. Nevertheless, there is no expert consensus on medical quality control of day surgery for ETS yet. Therefore, the Chinese Medical Doctor Association Thoracic Surgeons Branch Hyperhidrosis Subcommittee, Sympathetic Neurosurgery Expert Committee of WU Jieping Medical Foundation, and Fujian Provincial Strait Medical and Health Exchange Association Hyperhidrosis Special Committee organized domestic experts to conduct repeated consultations and sufficient discussions based on domestic and foreign literatures, to formulate the "Chinese expert consensus on ETS optimization and surgical quality control of day surgery for palmar hyperhidrosis". It aims to provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis for thoracic surgery colleagues in our country, to enhance their management level and work efficiency, and ultimately to achieve standardized quality control.
Primary palmar hyperhidrosis is a kind of benign disease characterized by abnormally increasing sweat. Various treatments for it exist in clinic currently and the one of them is endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. But due to the different choice of surgery path, surgery method and the way or the level to block the sympathetic chain, the surgical curative effect and the incidence of postoperative complications vary hugely. This review provides an update report on the surgery method and the way or the level to block the sympathetic chain to treat palmar hyperhidrosis by endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficiency and clinical outcomes of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) with flexible thoracoscopy under local anesthesia with monitored anesthesia care in primary palmar hyperhidrosis. MethodsFrom March 2011 to March 2013, we performed ETS with flexible thoracoscopy under local anesthesia with monitored anesthesia in 23 patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis (PH), including 10 males and 13 females with their age of 25.6±7.2 years (range, 17-32 years). T3 sympathectomy was performed with flexible endoscopy under local anesthesia with monitored anesthesia care. All patients were followed up until May 2014. ResultsDuring surgery, the vital signs of the patients remained stable. Operation time was 30-40 minites. The symptom of PH disappeared right in the surgery. All patients were discharged from the hospital on the 2nd postoperative day. One patient received unilateral sympathectomy because of pleural adhesion. Other 22 patients received follow-up to May 2014 and no reoccurrence was reported. ConclusionETS with flexible thoracoscopy under local anesthesia with monitored anesthesia is a safe, microinvasive and effective method.
ObjectiveTo investigate the safety of endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy in the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis based on ambulatory surgery mode.MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 158 patients with primary hyperhidrosis who received endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy in the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from January 2019 to March 2021. There were 68 (43.2%) males and 90 (56.8%) females with an average age of 14-33 (20.5±3.1) years. The basic information of the patients, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative pain score, hospitalization expenses and postoperative complications were observed and recorded.ResultsAll surgeries were successfully completed and the patients were discharged as planned. The operation time was 41.8±13.9 min, the intraoperative blood loss was 10.5±7.3 mL, the postoperative anesthesia recovery time was 15.0±5.9 min, and the pain score was 3.0±0.9 points. The total length of hospitalization was 1.6±1.0 days. The total postoperative expenses were 9 471.7±1 698.9 yuan. Pneumothorax occurred after the operation in 3 patients. Telephone follow-up on the 30th day after the operation showed no recurrence of sweaty hands, pneumothorax or rapid heart rate, and no serious complications or death related to the day operation within 30 days after the operation.ConclusionEndoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy based on ambulatory surgery mode is safe and effective in the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis.
This guideline systematically reviewed and summarized the 20 years' clinical and basic research experience of minimally invasive treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis (PH) in China, and discussed the hot and difficult issues of minimally invasive treatment of PH. We have formed a new consensus of PH in terms of its definition, clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria and classification, surgical indications and contraindications, surgical procedures and management of complications, especially in the area of postoperative compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH). This guideline confirmed that endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy (ETS) was the most effective treatment for PH and that CH was the most common side effect. In order to reduce the incidence of CH, eliminate patient's distress and improve patient's satisfaction, the guideline emphasized that the keys to prevent CH were to pay attention to pre-operative interview, communicate with patients, select patients carefully, avoid the enlargement of operative indication and optimize operative procedure. This guideline also introduced the advantages and disadvantages of various methods to reduce the incidence of CH. We provided this authoritative guidance document in order to avoid the surgical risk, strengthen the perioperative management and improve the sugery effect.
Objective To examine the relation between compensatory sweating（CS） and the resection site of the sympathetic nerve china during sympathectomy in treatment of palmal hyperhidrosis and thus to investigate the potential mechanism of the occurrence of compensatory sweating. Methods From October 2004 to December 2005, 128 patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis were randomly divided into two groups： 61 with T3 sympathicectomy （T3 group） and 67 with T4 sympathicectomy （T4 group）. All were treated under general anesthesia, single lumen intubation and via intercostal mediastinoscopic surgery. Results No morbidity or mortality occurred. Sweating of target organs was cured in all cases. Rates of minor CS in Group T3 or T4 showed no statistically significant （χ^2 = 1.866, P = 0.122）. Rate of moderate CS in group T4 was significantly lower than that in group T3 （χ^2=7.618, P=0.006）. No severe CS occurred. Conclusion Occurrence rate and severity of compensatory sweating are lower in T4 resection than in T3.
ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility and safety of ultra-micro 5 mm single-port endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy in selected patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis. MethodsFrom March 1, 2018 to February 1, 2021, 90 patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis who underwent ultra-micro 5 mm single-port endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy at the Thoracic Surgery Department of the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital. There were 47 males and 43 females, with a median age of 26.0 (22.0, 31.0) years. During the operation, T3 and/or T4 thoracic sympathetic nerve chain was transected using an ultra-micro 5 mm single-port incision near the areola or under the axilla. The surgical data of the patients were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Results All patients successfully completed the operation without major bleeding during the operation and no conversion to thoracotomy. There was no death or serious complication during the perioperative period. The operation time was 43.0 (23.0, 60.0) min, and the intraoperative blood loss was 2.0 (1.0, 2.0) mL. In the perioperative period, only one patient needed a tiny chest tube indwelling. The symptoms of hyperhidrosis on the hands all disappeared after the operation. The pain score on the postoperative day was 2.0 (2.0, 2.0) points. The hospital stay after surgery was 1.0 (1.0, 1.0) d. In the first month after the operation, the symptoms of hyperhidrosis on the hands were significantly relieved compared with those before the operation. The surgical incisions healed well, the wounds were concealed, and there was no wound infection or poor healing. The patients' satisfaction with the surgical incisions was 100.0%. After the operation, 14 (15.6%) patients had mild compensatory hyperhidrosis, 5 (5.6%) patients had moderate compensatory hyperhidrosis, and no patient had severe compensatory hyperhidrosis. Overall satisfaction rate was 94.0%. Conclusion The clinical application of ultra-micro 5 mmsingle-port endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy in selected patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis is safe and feasible. The surgical wound is extremely small and hidden, the operation time is short, the pain is very slight, and the clinical outcome is good. It can fully meet the patients' pursuit of beauty.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical effect of tubeless 3 mm ultra-fine thoracoscope combined with needle electrocoagulation hook thoracic sympathicotomy in the treatment of primary palmar hyperhidrosis. MethodsThe clinical data of 77 patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis who underwent surgery in the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from September 2017 to July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, including 50 males and 27 females, with an average age of 23.60±5.60 years. A total of 36 patients were treated with tubeless 3 mm ultra-fine thoracoscopic electrocoagulation hook thoracic sympathicotomy (an observation group), and 41 patients were treated with conventional thoracoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy (a control group). The baseline data, perioperative data and the results of 12 hours after operation were compared between the two groups. ResultsAll the 77 patients completed the operation successfully, no conversion to thoracotomy, no intraoperative bleeding, and no conversion to endotracheal intubation in the observation group. In the observation group, the time of anesthesia before operation [19.00 (17.00, 23.75) min vs. 25.00 (21.00, 27.00) min, P=0.001] and postoperative hospital stay [2.00 (1.00, 2.00) d vs. 2.00 (1.00, 3.00) d, P=0.012] were shorter than those in the control group. The operation time [22.50 (21.00, 25.75) min vs. 26.00 (23.50, 28.50) min, P=0.001], intraoperative blood loss [5.00 (2.25, 5.00) mL vs. 6.00 (5.00, 10.00) mL, P=0.003], postoperative pain index [2.00 (1.00, 2.00) vs. 3.00 (2.00, 3.00), P=0.001], hospitalization cost (14 246.58±879.28 yuan vs. 15 085.90±827.15 yuan, P<0.001) and postoperative inflammation index: white blood cell count [(12.96±2.32)×109/L vs. (14.47±2.05)×109/L, P=0.003], percentage of neutrophils (76.31%±5.40% vs. 79.97%±7.12%, P=0.014) were significantly lower or less than those in the control group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of major postoperative complications or adverse consequences between the two groups (P>0.05). In the evaluation of 12 hours after operation, the time of getting out of bed [2.00 (1.00, 2.00) h vs. 2.00 (2.00, 3.00) h, P=0.017], the time of drinking water after operation [1.50 (1.00, 2.00) h vs. 2.00 (1.00, 3.00) h, P=0.005], and the heart rate (80.25±14.42 bpm vs. 91.07±15.08 bpm, P=0.002), the incidence of dizziness, nausea and other uncomfortable symptoms (5.6% vs. 25.0%, P=0.040) at 12 hours after operation were shorter or lower than those in the control group. There was no significant difference in blood oxygen saturation (non-inhaled oxygen state) 12 hours after the operation between the two groups [97.00% (95.25%, 98.00%) vs. 97.00% (96.00%, 98.00%), P=0.763]. ConclusionCompared with conventional thoracoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy, tubeless 3 mm ultra-fine thoracoscopic electrocoagulation hook thoracic sympathicotomy can significantly shorten the operation time, reduce postoperative pain and promote postoperative recovery, in line with the concept of accelerated rehabilitation surgery and minimally invasive surgery, and is worth popularizing in clinical practice.
Objective To investigate the prevalence and related factors of primary palmar hyperhidrosis in adolescents in Yangzhou. Methods On-site questionnaire survey was performed on students selected by cluster random sampling from the two colleges and two high or middle schools, with each class as a unit. Data were collected through the questionnaire to make the diagnosis and severity grading. Results A total of 3 487 copies of the questionnaire were distributed in the survey and 3 299 were finished, among which 3 083 were effective with an effective rate of 88.41%. Among them, 1 358 respondents were males and 1 725 were females; 933 were middle school students, 809 high school students, and the remaining 1 341 college students. According to the diagnostic criteria, 104 respondents were diagnosed with palmar hyperhidrosis with an overall prevalence of 3.37%. There were 60 (4.41%) males and 44 (2.55%) females. Although the prevalence of palmar hyperhidrosis in males was higher than that of females (χ2=8.130, P<0.05), severe palmar hyperhidrosis was more often to be observed in females than in males, and females were also more likely to have hyperhidrosis in other parts of the body. In addition, the age of the first onset of the disease was mainly 10 to 20 years old and 36.54% of the patients had a family history. Conclusion The prevalence of palmar hyperhidrosis in adolescents in Yangzhou was 3.37%, and there is a significant difference in the gender. The palmar hyperhidros is often accompanied by hyperhidrosis symptoms of other parts of body, and the disease shows an obvious genetic predisposition.