Treat hyperhidrosis with ETS Surgery: pros and cons (my personal experience)

(this is a picture of my dry hand 10 years after ETS Surgery)

If you’re reading this, I take it you’ve tried everything from antiperspirants to iontophoresis to treat your hyperhidrosis, right?

If you haven’t, please read about the different treatments available for hyperhidrosis on this blog and online and start from the less intrusive ones first because these are safer options.

But if all the less intrusive options are not cutting it for you, you are probably wondering whether ETS surgery (Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy) could be a good option for you.

I feel you. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

Why I got ETS Surgery

I could not take it anymore. I was tired of not being able to shake hands, write on paper, pass my hand in my hair, hold hands, etc. And even if iontophoresis worked for me, I was also tired of the weekly sessions. I felt that was no way to live. It was depressing me too much. So, I decided to take a leap of faith and get ETS surgery…

I got the surgery ten years ago now. There was not many articles on the subject back then, except for a few forums showing pictures of people suffering from horrible compensatory sweating after surgery. People were advising to NEVER EVER get that surgery. That was super scary.

But I was SOOOO desperate! So I did it anyways… and it worked great for me!

Now, I can say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. It completely changed my life.

But it was one of the most painful things I’ve ever endured in my life. And even if it worked, I am amongst the lucky ones. Because a lot of people get bad compensatory sweat after the ETS surgery and mine was only mild. This is a painful and high-risk surgery, so the decision to get it can’t be taken lightly. You need to ensure you read everything you can on the matter, chat with professionals (dermatologists and surgeons), and give yourself a few months to think about it before you do it. There is no rewind button.

What is ETS Surgery?

ETS surgery (Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy) consists of cutting or clipping the sympathetic nerves, the ones responsible for our sweating. There are a bunch of articles online about ETS surgery, so I won’t go into more details about it.

My dermatologist had sent me to a surgeon specializing in this surgery. The surgeon then explained to me how it would work, the risks of the surgery, etc. I am not sure how they decide whether they’ll cut or clip the nerve, but I got mine cut.

The surgery was EXTREMELY painful. It felt like I got hit by a truck.

Just know it’s very common to get compensatory sweating after the surgery because, well … the sweat has got to go somewhere, right!? My compensatory sweating is a bit annoying at times, but it’s totally manageable. I just adapt the way I dress around it (that’s why I decided to write this blog with articles on how to dress when you sweat 😊). But each person reacts differently, so where and how much you’ll sweat after the surgery is a mystery.

But enough talking, let’s look at the pros and cons of that surgery (from my point of view).

Pros & Cons of getting ETS Surgery

Pros:

• Works: My hands are dry! My hands are dry! It worked great. They are dry no matter what the weather is like! And I will never need to worry about it anymore, ever. That is an amazing feeling.
• Price: This may vary depending on where you live and what your insurance is. In my case, it was fully covered.
• Side effects: I got the surgery for my hands, but it also – somehow – reduced the amount my feet sweat. Yay! So after the surgery, I still used my Iontophoresis machine for my feet. But since I got lazy, I stopped using it completely. Now, I just pay attention to the shape and fabric of the shoes I buy so my feet sweat doesn’t show (still happens, even more so when it’s hot outside). Read more on how to stop sweaty feet here.

Cons:

• Painful: it was EXTREMELY painful, and it took WEEKS if not months to recover. They cut a nerve that is close to your spine, so it’s obviously a complicated procedure. I got a bunch of issues after the surgery: I had a very hard time waking up from the surgery, I got an edema in my chest that took weeks to resorb itself, I had to take hardcore drugs to manage the pain, I could not get out/in bed, etc.
• Side–effects: It is very likely you’ll get compensatory sweating. It happens to 88% of people according to this medical article. It can vary from mild to severe depending on a bunch of factors. In my case, I got lucky because it’s pretty mild. I now sweat from the back, chest, and groin when it gets hot. Or my neck sweats if I eat apples or vinegar. Not the end of the world. I still prefer that to my painful palmar hyperhidrosis. But that’s why I still have to adapt the way I dress, and for instance, pick shirts that don’t show when I sweat.

Conclusion

The surgery was very painful and I got some compensatory sweating, but I am still very happy I got the surgery!

It completely changed my life. I can now shake hands, type on a keyboard, and many other things!

My hands used to get so wet, red and swollen, that often time, I could barely close them…

Now, I get excited when my skin cracks from the cold in the winter! I know… that sounds messed up, right? But imagine finally getting rid of your hyperhidrosis and feeling what’s it’s like to have dry hands? It’s exhilarating. I’m sure you’d let your skin cracks in the winter too 😊.

But we’re all different, so what worked for me may not work for you, and getting ETS surgery is very risky. So make sure you read as much about it as you can, and that you speak to several doctors about it so you have enough information before making the decision to get it or not get it.

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. I’m writing based on my own personal experience, and I added in some more details based off research. I’m simply giving you an overview of the options available to you to deal with hyperhidrosis, so you can have an understanding of what’s available when you talk to your doctor. Contrary to most things you will find online, this overview is not written from a medical or objective point of view, but written from the individual, unique, point of view of someone who went through most of the options. This is based on what I liked/didn’t like when I was tried each option.