Indications and results of the surgical treatment in Raynaud's phenomenon.

: 203 patients submitted in the last 20 years to surgery, first by Smithwick's sympathectomy, then by Adson's gangliectomy and lastly by Telford's gangliectomy, were controlled. The frequency of true Raynaud's disease is with time decreasing and is found today in the minority of the patients suffering from Raynaud's phenomenon and surgically treated. Immunological tests detect frequent associated autoimmune disorders to be treated before surgery. Surgical indication is today selective. For this reason long term results are improving: 90% of positive results in the last series against 73% and 60% respectively in the previous series.