title: Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for primary hyperhidrosis: a 16-year follow up in a single UK centre.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the introduction of Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy ( ETS ) by Kux in 1951, the procedure has been performed for treatment of primary hyperhidrosis (PH) of the upper limb. Despite its initial success and minimally invasive nature, the long-term results are yet to be established. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of patients after ETS with particular emphasis on patient satisfaction and its effectiveness over a 16-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  A patient survey of fifty-one (n = 51) patients who had ETS for PH of palms from 1995 to 2011 was conducted. The data on age, sex, site of the PH, family history, trigger, hospital stay, relief from symptoms, complications, refractory sweating and overall satisfaction with the procedure was analysed with SAS software version 9.1.3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mean follow-up was 77 months (range, 6-189 months) with equal gender distribution (n = 24 males Vs n = 27 females) and mean age of 19 (range, 13-64 years). The hereditary prevalence was 55%. Forty-six patients (90.2%) reported an immediate (≤24 h) and four patients (7.8%) reported a delay (>24 h) in relief of symptoms. To the best of our knowledge this is longest duration of follow-up reported in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust, Department of General & Upper GI Surgery, Broomfield Hospital, Essex CM1 7ET, UK.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Askari
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kordzadeh
authors.forename: Gui Han
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harvey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D006945:Hyperhidrosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013546:Sweating; D013562:Sympathectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult