About Hyperhidrosis

Primary hyperhidrosis is the name of a rare dysfunction of the nervous system which causes excessive sweating in certain parts of the body. Its cause is unknown. It generally affects the hands, feet, armpits and face, separately or in combinations.

Symptoms can appear during childhood and they continue for the rest of one's life.

When the sweating occurs, nothing can be done to stop it. It springs from the skin at the most inopportune and delicate times, causing great discomfort and enormous embarrassment.

The suffering begins in childhood. The child goes to school with a towel and with each sentence written, he/she has to dry the hands to prevent getting the paper wet. At parties or when playing, he/she always avoids contact out of fear of getting things or friends’ hands wet.

In adolescence, the youth is teased and deprived of a healthy social life. The hands, literally wet, constrain one from doing ordinary things, such as shaking or holding hands or taking a test without a towel between the hand and the paper. Wet armpits stain the shirt, party dress or even the jacket, sometime causing an unpleasant odor. Looking for solutions, he/she starts to take several baths a day, change clothes frequently and avoid certain types of fabrics or colors that accentuate the problem. Wearing sandals is a dream spoiled by frequent slips caused by wet feet.

In adult life, a sweaty face causes an impression of insecurity, hampering one’s effectiveness in public speaking and in business and social life. It becomes impossible for a woman to keep her make-up perfect during a party. Simple daily activities such as writing, dating, driving a car, working with a computer or shaking a customer's hand are simply difficult or awkward. Certain professions become complicated, especially those that depend on manual labor or good social presentation. Professional opportunities are lost or never acted upon.
Many hyperhidrosis sufferers begin to contemplate changing jobs or careers.

As a consequence, social, psychological and financial damages are incurred.
The search for palliative solutions and adaptations, for a problem frequently belittled by family members, friends and health professionals, becomes an obsession.

Palliative solutions end in more suffering or frustration.

For a definitive problem, a definitive solution is necessary.
The only definitive treatment for hyperhidrosis is surgical. Of the surgical options, the simplest, fastest, safest and most effective is endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy. This technique was developed in Brazil by Dr. Peter Kux in the 50’s and improved, in collaboration with Dr. João Bosco Vieira Duarte, in the 90’s.

Sympathicotomy consists of cutting the sympathetic nerve within the thoracic cavity, thereby interrupting the nervous stimulus to the sweat glands. The sweating immediately disappears. The technique we developed is used to cure palmar, axillar and facial hyperhidrosis. Plantar hyperhidrosis is usually improved and sometimes cured with our technique. The surgery is performed under general anesthesia through two small incisions of 3mm on each side of the thorax. It takes about 30 minutes. The result is immediate and it can be verified right in the operating room. The surgery is performed on an outpatient basis. The recovery is fast and the return to normal activities is quick. In some cases, after the surgery, an increase in sweating on the abdomen may occur. It usually disappears in a short time; it is rarely persistent.