Intercostal Nerve Reconstruction for Severe Compensatory Hyperhidrosis: The Gebitekin Technique

GEBİTEKİN C., MELEK H., Cetinkaya G., ÖZER E., YENTÜRK E., SEVİNÇ T. E., ...More

ANNALS OF THORACIC SURGERY, vol.111, no.6, 2021 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 111 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.11.067
  • Journal Name: ANNALS OF THORACIC SURGERY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Bursa Uludag University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Compensatory sweating (CS) is the most common and disabling complication of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy and represents an unmet clinical challenge. Our surgical hypothesis is to generate a parallel pathway to the damaged part of the sympathetic nerve, similar to the Kuntz nerve, by reconstructing the 2 healthy intercostal nerves, thus treating CS. Here, we present a novel videothoracoscopic technique involving bilateral intercostal nerve reconstruction in patients with severe CS after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy.