Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov-Dec;140(6):775-780.
doi: 10.1590/1516-3180.2021.0773.R2.14022022.

Population-based analysis of the epidemiology of the surgical correction of hyperhidrosis in 1,216 patients over 11 years: a cross-sectional study

Marcelo Fiorelli Alexandrino da Silva  1 , Andressa Cristina Sposato Louzada  2 , Marcelo Passos Teivelis  3 , Nickolas Stabellini  4 , Dafne Braga Diamante Leiderman  5 , José Ribas Milanez de Campos  6 , Edson Amaro Junior  7 , Nelson Wolosker  8
Affiliations

Population-based analysis of the epidemiology of the surgical correction of hyperhidrosis in 1,216 patients over 11 years: a cross-sectional study

Marcelo Fiorelli Alexandrino da Silva et al. Sao Paulo Med J. 2022 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy is the definitive surgical treatment for hyperhidrosis and a nationwide study has suggested that cultural and socioeconomic factors play a role in the numbers of operations performed. Thus, there is a need to evaluate local data in order to understand the local epidemiology and trends in hyperhidrosis treatment.

Objective: To study the epidemiology of sympathectomy for treating hyperhidrosis in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil.

Design and setting: Population-based retrospective cross-sectional study.

Methods: Data on sympathectomies for treating hyperhidrosis between 2008 and 2018 were assessed from the database of the Municipal Health Department of São Paulo, Brazil.

Results: 65.29% of the patients were female, 66.2% were aged between 20 and 39 years and 37.59% had registered with addresses outside São Paulo. 1,216 procedures were performed in the city of São Paulo from 2008 to 2018, and 78.45% of them were in only two public hospitals. The number of procedures significantly declined over the years (P = 0.001). 71.63% of the procedures were associated with 2-3 days of hospital stay, only 78 intensive care unit days were billed and we did not observe any intra-hospital death.

Conclusion: The profile of patients operated on in São Paulo (young women) is similar to that described in other populations. Sympathectomy is a very safe procedure, with no mortality in our series. There was a decreasing trend in the number of surgeries over the years.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Distribution of sympathectomies for treating hyperhidrosis between 2008 and 2018, in public hospitals in São Paulo.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Distribution of patients according to length of hospital stay in days.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. de Moura NB, Júnior, das-Neves-Pereira JC, de Oliveira FRG, et al. Expression of Acetylcholine and Its Receptor in Human Sympathetic Ganglia in Primary Hyperhidrosis. Ann Thorac Surg. 2013;95(2):465–70. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2012.10.068. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Strutton DR, Kowalski JW, Glaser DA, Stang PE. US prevalence of hyperhidrosis and impact on individuals with axillary hyperhidrosis: Results from a national survey. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2004;51(2):241–8. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2003.12.040. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Doolittle J, Walker P, Mills T, Thurston J. Hyperhidrosis: an update on prevalence and severity in the United States. Arch Dermatol Res. 2016;308(10):743–9. doi: 10.1007/s00403-016-1697-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cerfolio RJ, De Campos JRM, Bryant AS, et al. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Expert Consensus for the Surgical Treatment of Hyperhidrosis. Ann Thorac Surg. 2011;91(5):1642–8. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2011.01.105. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lear W, Kessler E, Solish N, Glaser DA. An epidemiological study of hyperhidrosis. Dermatol Surg Off Publ Am Soc Dermatol Surg Al. 2007;33(1 Spec No):S69–75. doi: 10.1111/j.1524-4725.2006.32334.x. - DOI - PubMed