INTRODUCTION Thorascopic sympathectomy is accepted as an effective treatment for palmar hyperhidrosis, facial blushing and to a lesser extent for digital ischaemia and axillary hyperhidrosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS Data were collected retrospectively on patients undergoing thorascopic sympathectomy at St Peter's Hospital between 1987 and 2006. Patients were followed up by telephone interview. RESULTS A total of 233 thorascopic sympathectomy procedures were performed by a single operator in 123 patients. Ages ranged from 9–71 years and 75 were women. In patients, 105 had a bilateral and 13 a unilateral procedure, 5 patients had a bilateral procedure performed in two stages. In 6 upper limbs, the procedure could not be done. Overall, 110 patients (90%) had the procedure performed for palmar hyperhidrosis, 8 (6%) for facial blushing and in 5 (4%) patients the operation was performed for digital ischaemia with tissue loss. There were no deaths and all patients were discharged on day 1 following the procedure. Complications included bleeding (2), pulmonary oedema (1) and failed procedure (2); however, no incidences of Horner's syndrome occurred. Only 40 of 123 (32.5%) patients gave follow-up information. Of this small group, 33 of 40 (83%) were cured, 4 of 40 (10%) were better, 2 of 40 (5%) were unchanged and 1 patient was worse. Only 22 out of 40 (55%) of these patients were troubled by compensatory sweating, with only 4 of 40 (10%) reporting this as a major problem. CONCLUSIONS Thorascopic sympathectomy is safe and can be carried out as a single bilateral procedure in the majority of cases. The laser allows the use of a single port, requires less dissection than surgical or clipping techniques, is more precise than diathermy and may be less likely to cause a Horner's syndrome.
OSA patients present unique challenges in the peri-operative period. They routinely require more monitoring, oxygen therapy, unplanned ICU admissions, longer hospital stays, and have more adverse events than healthy counterparts. Some data suggest that perioperative CPAP use is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality of patients with OSA, and yet its application remains inconsistent. This review aims to summarize existing literature on the peri-operative use of CPAP, identify barriers to its implementation, and begin defining an algorithm for the practical application of peri-operative CPAP.
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