Needlescopic thoracic sympathectomy: Treatment for palmar hyperhidrosis

Background. Open thoracic sympathectomy has been the established option for patients with essential hyperhidrosis. Recently, video-assisted endoscopic sympathectomy has provided a simple, safe, reliable, and cost- effective alternative to the earlier technique. With advances in instrumentation, performing the procedure through 2-mm and 3-ram needlescopic ports is now possible. The authors evaluate the effectiveness of so-called needlescopic thoracic sympathectomy for the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis. Methods. Thirty five consecutive patients with a mean age of 24 years, including 23 men and 12 women, underwent bilateral needlescopic thoracic sympathectomies at the National University Hospital of Singapore. Results. The mean operative duration was 56 minutes, and the mean hospital stay was 1.2 days. In no patient did Horner's syndrome or significant pneumothorax develop. The rate of success, defined as completely dry hands, was 97%. Two patients had unilateral recurrences that responded well to repeat needlescopic sympathectomies. We performed a total of 72 sympathectomies. Conclusions. Our study demonstrates that the use of miniature port access sites produces excellent medical and cosmetic results and is associated with a short hospital stay and low risk of complications. (C) 2000 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.