The Influence of Body Mass Index on the Outcomes of Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Sympathectomy for Primary Hyperhidrosis Patients

Abstract

Background: Primary hyperhidrosis (PH) is an autonomic disorder described as having excessive sweating in greater amounts than physiologically needed for thermoregulation. The aim of this retrospective study is to investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on surgical outcomes of bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy (VATS) for PH patients from Arabian ethnic group.

Methods: Between January 2009 and December 2018, a total of 79 patients underwent VATS as a treatment for PH at Jordan University Hospital. Postoperative assessment was done via patients’ subjective reporting of their satisfaction with the outcome of performed procedure.

Results: The mean age of the studied population was 23.2 ± 4.5 years, of which 34 (43%) were males and 45 (57%) were females. Satisfaction with the outcome of VATS was significantly associated with having dry palms as a desirable outcome (p < 0.001), and with older age (p = 0.002). BMI was neither significantly associated with their satisfaction (p = 0.128), nor with compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH) (p= 0.859).

Conclusion: VATS is considered an effective treatment for PH, with high rates of patient’s satisfaction. Neither the level of satisfaction nor the occurrence of CH was associated with patients’ BMI.