In which cases is surgery performed?
– Sweaty hands
– Sweaty armpits
– Sweaty face
– Reddening of the face
– Sweaty feet
– Coldness and bruising of the fingertips (Reynaud phenomenon)
These conditions can also be corrected in the same surgery. However, it is especially applied for sweaty hands and armpits.
It is not performed for sweaty feet, but if there is sweaty feet along with the above-mentioned sweating, sweaty feet also pass in 60 percent of patients.
What is ETS (Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy)?
It is the procedure of entering the chest cavity with a video camera and placing a titanium clip on the nerve that regulates sweating (sympathetic ganglion), or damaging the nerve (cauterizing it with electrocautery).
People who have previously had pneumonia or lung surgery are not suitable for ETS.
Advantages of ETS
– The procedure takes an average of 30 minutes.
– When the patient wakes up, their hands are dry and warm.
– It leaves a very small scar.
– It causes less pain
Healing and the effects of the surgery disappear in a short time. Patients are discharged on the 2nd day of the surgery and can do their daily activities the same day.
Successful results are achieved in 98 percent of cases for sweating hands, over 80 percent for sweating underarms, and around 25 percent for sweating feet, although it is not performed for sweating feet.
Are there any complications of ETS?
Reflex sweating (increased sweating in other parts of the body) is the most common side effect with a rate of 20-50%. However, it is disturbing in 2-3%. Another rare side effect is sweating during meals.
Rarely or in every surgical procedure, allergic reactions to anesthetics and medications, bleeding, infection and adjacent organ injury may occur.
Sometimes air retention in the chest cavity (pneumothorax) may develop. However, in most cases it disappears on its own and does not cause problems.
The complication called Horner syndrome (drooping eyelids, constriction of the pupils and decreased facial sweating) is very rarely permanent, but can return to normal within a few months.
Waking up after surgery
After the surgery, you will be transferred to your bed in the ward. You will be given the necessary fluids and medications through the lines attached to the intravenous line. Monitors will record your heart rate and the amount of oxygen in your blood.
You will be given medications to help you be more comfortable during your recovery. During this time, you will be given exercises that will make breathing and movement easier and more effective.
