Extended versus Limited Thoracoscopic Sympathectomy: Its Impact on Palmar and Plantar Hyperhidrosis...

Objective: In cases of palmar, axillary, and plantar hyperhidrosis, the goal was to evaluate the outcomes of restricted sympathectomy (T3, T4, and T5 division) with extended sympathectomy in terms of reduced sweating and recurrence rates.Methods: In the Department of Vascular Surgery at Mansoura University Hospitals, 120 patients with hyperhidrosis participated in a randomized controlled prospective trial. They were split into two groups, with the first group undergoing bilateral limited sympathectomy (LS) and the second group undergoing unilateral extended sympathectomy (ES). Results: Both the immediate and three-month follow-up results showed statistically significant differences between the two groups. In contrast to the ES group, compensatory sweating was considerably higher in the LS group. The length of the procedure and the post-operative pain level did not significantly differ across the groups. However, the LS group's hospital stay was noticeably longer than the ES group's. Regarding all problems, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups.Conclusions: Due to improved overall results, shorter hospital stays, and less compensatory hyperhidrosis, extended thoracoscopic sympathectomy seems to be the preferable option for palmar and plantar hyperhidrosis than restricted thoracoscopic sympathectomy.