ARE WE PAYING A HIGH PRICE FOR
SURGICAL SYMPATHECTOMY?
Andrea Furlana,c MD, Angela Mailisa,b MD, MSc, FRCPC (PhysMed) and
Marios Papagapioua MSc
Conclusions: Surgical sympathectomy irrespective of approach is accompanied by several potentially
disabling complications.
Surgical sympathectomy is performed in thousands of patients around the world primarily for the treatment
of bothersome palmar hyperhidrosis.1-7 Much less frequent indications are: neuropathic pain syndromes
(like Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy and Causalgia)2;8;9 , ischaemic conditions including peripheral vascular
disease and Raynaud’s phenomena2 and rarely facial blushing10, Prinzmetal’s angina11, as well as migraine,
dysmenorrhea and pancreatitis2;12
I S I S
SCIENTIFIC NEWSLETTER
Volume 4 Number 2
Summer Issue 2001