Surgical Solutions to Excessive Sweating

At the height of my hyperhidrosis, my daily routine became completely affected. Every social aspect of my life suffered from my condition. Sweating brought on a self-consciousness that gave me anxiety and depression. So much so that I could no longer bear it. I wanted a quick fix and surgery sounded like it would be just that.

Let me add one caveat before I get into surgical alternatives for excessive sweating. Surgery should ALWAYS be a last resort. I will explain why in a bit. Before I give you the details of the procedures available to alleviate hyperhidrosis, you should know that ultimately I did NOT go with surgery as my solution.

One of the most common surgical procedures known to end hyperhidrosis is called an Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS). The name can be more than a mouthful, so we'll call it ETS for short.

ETS is a surgical procedure where certain portions of the sympathetic nerve trunk are destroyed. The most common area targeted in sympathectomy is the upper thoracic region, that part of the sympathetic chain between the first and fifth thoracic vertebrae. This procedure is most often requested for the relief of palmer hyperhidrosis (sweaty hands).

The procedure is performed to essentially interrupt neural messages between the brain and the sweat glands that are hyperactive. It is through these nerves of the autonomic nervous system that the brain is able to make adjustments in the body in response to changing conditions in the environment, changing emotional states, level of exercise, etc.

The restriction of these neural messages is like removing the trigger from a gun. Without them, the sweat glands are restricted from firing off uncontrollably.

This very layman explaination is not exact as I'm sure you didn't come here for an anatomy lesson. You'll be better off getting the exact details of the procedure from your own doctor. However, I would like to relay some of the well known risks to this kind of surgery.

The exact results of ETS are impossible to predict. This is because of the anatomic variations in sympathetic nerve function from one patient to the next, and also because of variations in surgical technique. There are many ways to perform the procedure.

Compensatory sweating is one of the most concerning side-effects associated with surgery. It's been noted that 85% of patients are satisfied with surgery afterwards. Actually, one surgeon study shows a satisfaction rate as low as 28.6.% but that number sounds a bit extreme to me.

The later percentage may have complaints of compensatory sweaty from other parts of the body. Others have complained that they are actually too dry after surgery and their bodies don't cool off in hot weather properly through the normal function of perspiration.

I know from personal experience that hyperhidrosis can be scary and seem hopeless, but I really don't advocate surgery as the cure-all. It's just no where near perfected yet and the problematic aftermath of a bad surgery can far outweight the excessive sweating you had prior to going under the knife.

Maybe in the next ten years they'll get this one right, but in the meantime, it's just not perfect. You will generally have some kind of negative side-effect or complaint after the fact and with surgery, those problems are difficult to reverse.

I highly recommend you try the "Stop Sweating and Start Living" natural solution before going into any kind of surgical solution. You have nothing to risk and nothing to lose. Remember, surgery is a permanent change.

Don't give up on your hyperhidrosis relief. It's right around the corner. I've been where you are and I know what works and what doesn't. Take comfort in knowing that you're not alone. If you're at the end of your rope, don't lose hope. You can find greater success with the natural excessive sweating remedy HERE.