Treatment of axillary osmidrosis: a comparison between subcutaneous laser and superficial liposuction curettage.
BACKGROUND
Axillary osmidrosis can lead to personal and social problems, particularly in Asian culture. Superficial liposuction with curettage and subcutaneous laser are surgical intervention commonly used for osmidrosis.


OBJECTIVE
Retrospectively, we compared the effectiveness and complications between superficial liposuction with curettage and subcutaneous laser in an Asian population.


METHODS
Totally, 66 and 19 patients receiving subcutaneous laser and superficial liposuction with curettage (LC) were recruited. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed by patients subjectively. Recurrence rate of osmidrosis and complications were also evaluated.


RESULTS
95% of patients showed good-to-excellent improvement in LC group and only 30% of patients showing good-to-excellent results in laser group (P < 0.01). Binary logistic regression revealed that the odds ratio of LC was 53.288 (P = 0.006) for >50% improvement in osmidrosis. The recurrence rate was not significantly different (P = 0.139), however, the duration to recurrence of osmidrosis was significantly longer in LC group (P < 0.01). The complication rate was 31% in LC group and 6% in laser group (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Superficial liposuction with curettage provides more effective treatment with higher complication rates and is possibly suitable for severe patients. For mild-to-moderate osmidrosis, or preferring a better cosmetic result or short recovery, subcutaneous laser could be applied.
Department of Dermatology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Y-T
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8536-9397
YT
Chen
Department of Dermatology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
P-Y
PY
Shih
Department of Urology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
H-J
HJ
Chen
Department of Dermatology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
T-J
TJ
Chen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001050:Apocrine Glands; D001365:Axilla / Q000601:surgery*; D003475:Curettage / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015187:Lipectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013396:Suction; D013543:Sweat Gland Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult