Hyperhidrosis is the problem of sweating profusely. Some of the people face the problem of sweating profusely and when they consult about their problem then they are usually advised to go for the hyperhidrosis surgery. But wait!
Before going for the surgery have a look on what it actually is and what are its side-effects then decide whether you want to go for it or not.
Table of Contents
What Is Hyperhidrosis?
Hyperhidrosis is the so-called disease of excess sweating. Sweating is the natural phenomenon that keeps our body cool.
But people who suffer from hyperhidrosis have the excess of sweating especially under the arms, on the palm and under the feet.
What Causes Hyperhidrosis?
The actual reason of hyperhidrosis is still not known but this condition gets worse in summers due to excessive heating, or when you are under stress or anxiety or when you do some physical exercise. However, there is a need to do more research.
But a reason for hyperhidrosis is predicted according to which your body deals with various stressful situations with the help of nervous systems; but sometimes, something wrong happens in the nervous system and your body starts sweating excessively. This condition is called hyperhidrosis.
Is Hyperhidrosis A Genetic Disorder?
Researchers are not completely sure about this whether this is a genetic disorder or not but it has been observed that in many of the cases till now, persons who have the problem of hyperhidrosis, their parents also have the problem of hyperhidrosis.
Is Hyperhidrosis Life Threatening?
No, there is not anything like life threatening in the problem of hyperhidrosis. But yes, if you are excessively sweating then this enter in your daily life like you are not able to hold something in your hands for the longer time.
Your hands start sweating. Even you can need to change your clothes gain and again because of excess sweat under your arms.
Is Hyperhidrosis Treatable?
Yes, hyperhidrosis is treatable. There are both surgical and non-surgical methods for the treatment of the hyperhidrosis. Doctors recommend you surgical and non-surgical treatments depending on your condition.
If you are sweating profusely that non-surgical method cannot treat you properly then doctors suggest you go for surgery unless they suggest you non-surgical treatment for getting rid of hyperhidrosis.
What Are The Non-Surgical Treatment Options?
There are various non-surgical treatments that are recommended to you if you can be treated by the non-surgical operations. These treatments include:
- Botox Injections
- Antiperspirants
- Iontophoresis
Are Non-Surgical Really Effective?
Non-surgical treatments are helpful and effective if you do not have the problem of sweating more than a limit. And even most of the doctors initially recommend you to go for non-surgical treatment before going for surgical treatment.
As hyperhidrosis surgery is a big decision and if you get relief from non-surgical treatment whether the relief is incomplete but if you can handle the incomplete relief then you should go for non-surgical treatment.
When Is Surgery The Right Option For Treatment?
If you suffer from severe hyperhidrosis and you are not getting relief from the non-surgical treatment then you should go for the surgery of hyperhidrosis. In severe and even in moderate hyperhidrosis cases, surgery is the best option for you to get rid of hyperhidrosis.
What Are The Surgical Options For Treatment?
ETS – Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy is the surgical operation for those who want to get rid of the problem of hyperhidrosis or sweating profusely.
This surgery does not completely solve your problem as this surgery brings with some side-effects as well. That’s why it is usually recommended that if you can avoid this surgery then you must avoid it.
What Are The Side-Effects Of Hyperhidrosis Surgery?
1. Losing Ability To Sweat Above The Nipple Line
Hyperhidrosis is a problem of excess sweating. You take this ETS surgery to get rid of this excessive sweating. But when you take the surgery for excessive sweating at your palms, then you can face the problem of losing an ability to sweat above the nipple line.
Yes, it is true. Most of the people who have gone through this surgery till now are facing this problem. And sweating is the phenomenon with the help of which you lose the heat of your body and keep your body cool. When you lose the ability to sweat then your body usually gets heated up a lot.
These Conditions Normally Happen In The Following Situation
- When you are under stress then you can face the problem of major changes in temperature. This is complained about a lot of customers according to whom when they are under stress they undergo major changes in temperature and this happens because your body is not able to sweat equally throughout. Due to the inability of sweating from the upper body portion, they feel their body heated up suddenly.
- The second one is the dryness in the scalp which is due to an inability of sweating in the upper body portion. This especially occurs at some physical activity when your body usually sweats a lot but due to the surgery scalp remains completely dry.
2. Reducing The Resting Heart Rate
Reducing the resting heart rate is also one of the major side-effects of the ETS surgery. When you undergo this surgery then the heart rate of your heart reduces to the fraction of the patients and it usually varies from one-tenth to half and it mainly depends on upon the surgeon from which you do your surgery.
However, this does not give you any major problem. Then what will you, relief from hyperhidrosis or slower heart rate? Most of you prefer to go for the hyperhidrosis surgery as this gives you more problems than the reduction in the heart rate.
The reason behind a reduction in heart rate is upper thoracic ganglions in the sympathetic chain are connected to your heart whether directly or indirectly. Parasympathetic nervous system and sympathetic nervous system are connected to your heart.
Sympathetic nervous system increases your heart rate when you are in danger and parasympathetic nervous system decreases your heart rate. So, here parasympathetic nervous system is affected in this surgery which decreases your heart rate.
Different surgeons have different views on the reduction in resting heart rate. Some say it is not good for the athlete to have lower resting heart rate.
According to them, it reduces their effective performance but some says that this surgery does not have much effect on the effectiveness of the athlete as the resting heart rate does not get less than 60 beats per minute and according to doctors if your resting heart rate is greater than 50 beats per minute then it does not side-effects.
So, there are mixed views on whether a reduction in resting heart is actually a serious side-effect or not. But this I can say from my observations that many of the athletes have the resting heart rate of about 30 beats per minute but still they are leading athletes.
3. Reflex Sweating
ETS surgery causes compensatory sweating and it is more famous with the name reflex sweating. Reflex sweating is sweating at another place due to some other place.
In this surgery as explained earlier, sweating in the upper body parts reduces, so obviously normal sweating that should occur at that place will occur on some other place and this happens in this surgery which is known as reflex sweating.
Obviously, if it is not occurring in the upper body parts then it will occur on lower body parts. If you going through the surgery of hyperhidrosis palms then you can get compensatory sweating under the feet or on the thighs or under the arms.
It can be anywhere but it will definitely be somewhere. Previously, it was said that reflex sweating occurs to 50 to 60 % of the people but with time it was realised that it is the case with 100 % of the people.
It starts occurring 1 to 2 years after the surgery but this side-effect is faced by 100% of the surgery undergone patients.
4. Increment In The Feet Sweating
Those who undergo the surgery of palm, they mostly have feet hyperhidrosis as well. When it is asked from the surgeons about the effect of ETS surgery on the hyperhidrosis problem of the feet then their views vary here as well. Some of them say that it depends on patient to patient; hyperhidrosis of feet may increase, decrease or can remain same as well.
But if you will see the comments of people who have undergone this surgery or will talk to them then you will find very fewer people who do not have much effect on their feet hyperhidrosis. According to most of them, sweating on their feet has increased profusely after going through the ETS surgery for palms.
The reason behind increment in the sweating from feet after hyperhidrosis surgery of palm is because a lumbar sympathetic chain of your lower back is responsible for sending signals of sweat to the feet and when sweat from palm is ceased then sweat from foot increases. That’s why it is usually seen that sweating from foot increases when you undergo through hyperhidrosis surgery for hands.
5. Extreme Coldness In Hands
This is also the effect that is observed among the patients. After about 1 to 2 years of surgery, your hands start occurring very cool down. This situation is observed among 2% of the patients after about 1 to 2 years of the surgery.
The reason behind so much cooling of the hands is increased sensitivity to surrounding catecholamines. This increment in coldness is mostly observed during the time of stress off during the cold weather.
6. Recurrence Of The Previous Symptoms
Surgery is done to get rid of hyperhidrosis forever but in less than 5 % of the cases, it is observed that symptoms of the previous problem start occurring. Many people have faced the problem of recurrence of the sweating.
When surgeons were asked the reason behind this then they say that it is not possible for the recurrence of the sweating as ganglion are properly destroyed in the surgery and after they destruction it is not possible for them to regenerate and start producing sweat by taking the sweat signals.
Some surgeons said that maybe it is possible that sweat signals are sent to somewhere else. Sweating may be occurring due to some other reason.
No one has found the reason for the recurrence of the sweating after the surgery but it happens, there is no doubt. Many of the people have posted their comments about sweating profusely in one of the hands.
One had commented that he had undergone the hyperhidrosis surgery for palm. After 1 to 2 years, his right palm starts sweating profusely. Whenever he do some physical activity then his left arm remain totally dry but right arm starts sweating profusely.
Many others have also commented like this.
7. Horner’s Syndrome
This is the side-effect that your surgeons will warn before doing the surgery. This is one of the side-effects that are honestly discussed by the surgeons. The horner’s Syndrome is the droopy eyelids.
These side-effects occur if your stellate ganglion damages. So, it depends on which surgeon do you choose for your surgery.
This side-effect is not observed if you are doing your surgery from the experienced surgeon. It is observed in other ones. If you face this problem then to get rid of droopy eyelids you need to go through another cosmetic surgery.
So, be careful while choosing surgeon for your surgery.
8. Gustatory Sweating
This is also one of the side-effect that is observed among 10 to 20 % of the patients. Gustatory sweating is profusely sweating on the forehead if you eat spicy foods. This is a very weird situation.
After this surgery you usually do not get any sweating in your upper body whether you do any physical activity but if you eat spicy foods then you start sweating profusely. But it occurs and it starts occurring after 1 to 2 years of the surgery.
9. Pneumothorax
This is the situation that is observed sometimes while doing surgery. Pneumothorax is the lung collapse during or after sometime of the surgery and this leads to death.
Yes, this sounds horrible but it is observed in some of the cases. In 1 to 2 % of the cases, lungs collapse and this leading to death is observed among the patients.
10. Intercostal Neuralgia
It is the local pain in the chest wall area and sometimes severe pain also occurs. This is also complain of a lot of patients. This problem is faced by 2 to 3 % after 1 to 2 years of the surgery.
Some Other Side Effects
Some people have also complained about:
- Dizziness
- Light sensitivity
- Loss of hairs
- Changes in blood pressure
However, nothing can be said whether these are actually the side effects of the ETS surgery or this is occurring by chance as this is observed in very rare cases. But these are observed so cannot be neglected.
These are the main side-effects are that people usually have to face after the surgery of hyperhidrosis.
Today, many adults are going for axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis botox surgery. It too has side effects. So, you should take care before going for these.
What Happens After Surgery?
Surgery is performed after giving anaesthesia to the patients. But some of the effects are there which occurs just after the surgery. These are:
- Pain in the area of the chest wall for almost a week after the surgery.
That’s why surgeons always recommend patients to do light activities just after the surgery. They are advised not to hold a lot of weight or do some heavy exercise.
Conclusion
Sweating profusely has a lot of disadvantages. Most of the people want to get rid of this they always remain ready to go for the surgery. But before going to the surgery you should completely and thoroughly study the side-effects of the surgery as this surgery really have a lot of disadvantages.
If you will study the side-effects then you will realise that if you can live with the amount of sweating you are having then you would love to not go for surgery. So, please thoroughly study the side-effects of the surgery before taking the decisions of the surgery.
You can also try herbal remedies to reduce the excessive sweating. These will give your body a cooling effect and prevents sweat glands from producing more sweat.
