Axillary
hyperhidrosis poses a serious problem to the affected patients. So far, the conservative measures employed seem to be disappointing, operations with axillary skin excision, undermining and/or skin reconstruction may cause secondary functional and cosmetic problems, whereas
botulinum A toxin injections need to be repeated frequently. The aim of this study was to establish the safety, efficacy, and durability of subdermal (subcorial) suction sweat gland
curettage in the treatment of axillary
hyperhidrosis. So far, the method seems to be devoid of possible risks and drawbacks. In the last 4.5 years, 15 patients with axillary
hyperhidrosis were operated on with the use of
liposuction tools. First operations were performed in
general anesthesia, then in tumescent
anesthesia. The procedure of
suction curettage was performed with the use of 3- to 4-mm wide
liposuction cannulas. The patients were closely monitored during early stages of the healing process; then they were evaluated at 1 and 3 months, and finally at 1-4 years of the operation, when they were asked to assess the effects of the operation. Four patients had recurrence of the disease within 3 months; three of them were reoperated on, with good result. At 1-4 years of the operation, all our responders (ten of 15 patients) stated that the disease had completely subsided. The following complications were observed during the process of healing:
hematomas, transient skin unevenness, and partial skin flap
necrosis. In conclusion, subdermal
suction curettage seems to be superior to
botulinum A toxin injections by the effect durability, and to the surgical methods with skin excision and undermining by the probably lower complication rates.