[Comparison of curative effects of sympathectomy at different segments on palmar hyperhidrosis].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the curative effects of sympathectomy at different segments on palmar hyperhidrosis. METHODS: Four hundred patients with palmar hyperhidrosis, 191 males and 209 females, aged 21.9 +/- 3.4 (10 - 53), underwent bilateral sympathectomy However, bilateral sympathectomy was forced to be given up and replaced by unilateral sympathectomy in 2 patients because of severe pleural adhesion The 398 patients on which bilateral sympathectomy was successfully performed were randomly divided into 3 groups: Group A (n = 207) undergoing T2-4 sympathectomy, Group B (n = 131) undergoing T3 sympathectomy, and Group C (n = 60) undergoing T3-4 sympathectomy. The curative effects were compared. RESULTS: Operation was successfully performed on all patients and their palmar hyperhidrosis was completely alleviated after operation. No surgery-related post-operative complication occurred. The compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH) rate of Group B was 5.3%, not significantly different from that of Group C (6.7%, P > 0.05). The CH rate of the combined group, Group B + C was 5.8%, significantly lower than that of Group A (28.0%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Safe and mini-invasive, T3 or T3-4 sympathectomy effectively reduce the development of CH and improves the patients' quality of life post-operatively.