Thoracoscopic sympathectomy: indications and complications.
In 1942,Hughes performed the first thoracoscopic removal of sympathetic ganglia. Two years later Goetz and Marr reported on cases that had undergone thoracoscopic sympathectomy. In the 1950s, Kux performed more than 1,400 thoracoscopic sympathectomies and vagotomies. Interest in thoracoscopic sympathectomy increased in the 1980s and now it is the treatment of choice for severe axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis.
George
M
M
Kings College Hospital, London, England, UK.
Rennie
J
J