Primary Hyperhidrosis, of unknown cause, is the expression given to the rare dysfunction of the nervous system that leads to excessive sweating in given parts of the body. It usually affects the hands, feet, armpits and face, alone or in association.
The symptoms may appear in childhood and persist for the rest of one’s life.
O suor ocorre sem que nada o possa impedir. Ele brota nas horas mais incertas e delicadas, causando grande incômodo e enorme constrangimento.
When sweating occurs, nothing can be done to stop it. It comes at the most inopportune and delicate times, causing great inconvenience and embarrassment.
The sweat from the armpits soaks through shirts, party dresses and even jackets, sometimes causing unpleasant body odor. In the search for solutions, they start to take several showers a day, change clothes frequently and avoid certain fabrics and colors because they accentuate the problem. The use of sandals is unthinkable due to the constant slipping.
In adulthood, facial sweat gives people the impression of insecurity, discomfort or embarrassment when one is speaking in public or closing a deal. It is impossible for a woman to keep her makeup perfect during a party. Daily activities as simple as writing, dating, driving a car, working with a computer or just shaking hands with a client are distressing. Performing the activities of many professions is difficult, especially for those who have manual-labor jobs or for whom good social presentation is a must. Professional opportunities are missed or even denied. Switching jobs or even professions is often considered and often occurs.
All of that results in substantial social, psychological and monetary costs. Sufferers are constantly on the lookout for palliative solutions and the problem is often trivialized by family, friends and even health professionals.
Palliative solutions end in suffering and frustration. A definitive problem demands a definitive solution.
The only definitive treatment for Hyperhidrosis is surgical. Of the surgical options, the simplest, fastest, safest and most effective is Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS).
This procedure was developed in Germany by the late Dr. Erhard Kux, who taught it to his nephew, the late Dr. Peter Kux. The younger Dr. Kux moved to Brazil and began practicing the technique here at the end of the 1940’s. He and Dr. Joao Bosco Vieira Duarte perfected it in the 1990’s.
Sympathectomy consists of the severing the sympathetic trunk, which is located on the interior of the thoracic cavity. Thereby, the nervous stimulus to the sweat glands ceases, and sweating stops. The same procedure cures Palmar (hand), Axillary (armpit) and Facial Hyperhidrosis and improves or even cures Plantar (feet) Hyperhidrosis. The surgery is performed under general anesthesia through two small incisions of three millimeters on each side of the thorax and takes about thirty minutes. The result is immediate and can be observed in the operating room. The patient is discharged on the same day, as a stay in the hospital is not necessary. The recovery is fast; so is the return to normal activities. In some cases, after the surgery, an increase in sweating can occur, usually in the abdomen, but the symptom usually disappears in a few days.