3rd Congress of the Asian Vascular Society, 1998: Rationale and technique of thoracic sympathectomy in vascular surgery

Thoracic sympathectomy is an infrequently performed operation which does retain a useful role, particularly in the management of hyperhidrosis where the results are so predictably good. The place of thoracic sympathectomy is less certain in the management of other conditions, but it is still occasionally used in the management of upper extremity vasospastic or ischaemic disorders and for post-traumatic pain syndromes. The history of thoracic sympathetic surgery is briefly reviewed and then the surgical anatomy and conventional surgical and endoscopic methods of thoracic sympathectomy are described, emphasizing the evolution of endoscopic sympathectomy as the method of choice.