Impact of video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy and related complications on quality of life according to the level of sympathectomy

Abstract Introduction Primary hyperhidrosis is defined as excessive sweating of idiopathic aetiology, associated with sympathetic hyperactivity, which greatly impacts patients’ quality of life (QoL). The definitive treatment for palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis (PAH) is video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy (VATS). Objective To evaluate the quality of life of patients with PAH before and after VATS according to the level of sympathectomy performed, as well as the presence of compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH) and other complications. Materials and methods All patients who underwent VATS in our vascular surgery department between January 2011 and December 2016 were included in the analysis. From 120 contact attempts, 88 interviews were carried out. Patients were divided into two groups according to the intervened thoracic level: high thoracic ganglion (HTG; T2, T2-T3, T2-T3-T4; n = 68), and low thoracic ganglion (LTG; T3, T3-T4, T4; n = 20). The questionnaire evaluated preoperative PAH severity, the presence of CH, pre- and postoperative QoL and postoperative satisfaction. Results The median age of patients was 29 years, and the median follow-up period was 32 months (IQR of 34 months). Most patients had severe or very severe PAH (97.7%) and preoperative QoL was bad or very bad (95.5%). Postoperatively, QoL was significantly improved in all domains evaluated, with no differences observed between the groups. The overall percentage of complications was 11.4%, mostly pneumothorax, but there was a significantly lower incidence of complications in the HTG group (p = 0.029). Compensatory hyperhidrosis developed in 85.2% of cases, but it was only considered intolerable in 10.2%. The incidence of CH was 82.4% in the HTG group and 95% in the LTG group, with no statistically significant differences between the groups (p = 0.147). Conclusions Palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis severely affects QoL, and video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy was proven to be effective regardless of the target ganglion resected. Although CH was frequent, it was tolerated in most cases.