• Yan-guo Liu, Jie Yang, Jun Wang, Jun Liu, Jian-feng Li, Guan-chao Jiang, Yu-qing Huang, Fan Yang, and Hui Zhao.
• Department of Thoracic Surgery, Center of Thoracic Mini-invasive Surgery, People's Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100044, China.
• Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2006 Sep 5; 86 (33): 2318-20.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect and side effect of T(3) versus T(4) sympathectomy in the surgical management of primary palmar hyperhidrosis through prospective multi-center randomized controlled trial.MethodsFrom Sep 2004 to Feb 2006, 106 consecutive patients (49 males and 54 females) with primary palmar hyperhidrosis were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned into T(3) or T(4) level sympathectomy groups. 66 patients received T(3) sympathetic chain transection and 37 patients received T(4) sympathetic chain transection. The two groups were comparable in all other parameters.ResultsAll procedures were carried out successfully without severe morbidity or mortality. After a mean follow-up period of 8.6 months, both groups remained satisfactory in palmar sweating control. The T(4) group had more moisture hands compared with the T(3) branch (54.1% vs 15.2%, P < 0.01), but this didn't compromise the patients' satisfactory. The patients in T(4) group showed significantly less dry hand problems than the patients in the T(3) group (5.4% vs. 25.8%, P < 0.05), and so did compensatory sweating (21.6% vs. 45.6%, P < 0.05).ConclusionThe procedure of T(3) or T(4) sympathectomy, both transecting the sympathetic chain in one single position in relatively lower segment, are comparatively effective in the treatment of primary palmar hyperhidrosis, but T(4) sympathectomy shows less side effect.

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