http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/health/article.jsp?content=20050301_104409_5492

 Dripping Silver
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(3/16/05 12:45 pm)
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  International Hyperhidrosis Society Newsletter--WOW
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 I have to give the IHHS a thumbs up for making a report about the following article that was recently published. 

Link to McLeans Canada Article

Doctors knock controversial sweating treatment 

Surgical procedure leaves many people dripping wet on other parts of the body 

A common surgical procedure to bring relief to people who suffer from excessive sweating on their palms, face, scalp or underarms causes many people to sweat on other parts of the body.

The procedure -- sympathectomy -- involves destroying or removing bundles of cells in the sympathetic nervous system, which controls sweating. These bundles, or ganglia, are labelled T2, T3 or T4 depending on their location in the chest. 
Based on a study involving 121 people, Dr. Todd Dewey of the Medical City Dallas Hospital says the most satisfied patients are those with excessive sweating on their palms only. The most dissatisfied are those with face sweating or a combination of face, palm and armpit sweating. 

The most common problem following sympathectomy is increased sweating on other parts of the body, most often the back, legs, groin and abdomen. This compensatory sweating can be mild or severe, and occurred in more than 80 per cent of the Dallas patients. 

People who had surgery involving the T2 ganglia were particularly vulnerable to severe compensatory sweating, and the majority said they regretted the decision to have the procedure. 

In a Danish study of 100 people who had surgery for underarm sweating, Dr. Peter Licht of Aarhus University Hospital found that 90 per cent of patients reported compensatory sweating, half of whom were forced to change their clothes during the day because of it. 

The frequency of compensatory sweating in the Danish study is likely associated with their decision to cut the T2 ganglia in all patients, according to a Canadian surgeon who has performed more than 640 sympathectomies and has abandoned the T2 procedure because of unacceptable side-effects. 

Dr. Ernie Spratt of St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto uses a clipping technique that can be reversed within six months of the procedure if severe compensatory sweating develops. 

He operates on only 35 per cent of the patients referred to his office -- most often on people with isolated hand, or hand and underarm sweating. The results in that patient group have been excellent, he says, and the key to his success is careful patient selection. For isolated underarm sweating he recommends sweat gland removal, but admits there are no good options for people with facial or scalp sweating. 

"All I can say at this point is I don't think sympathectomy is the answer for that. They're very depressed when I see them, and I tell them I cannot recommend this procedure." 



Edited by: Dripping Silver at: 3/16/05 1:15 pm 