Intercostal nerve reconstruction for severe compensatory hyperhidrosis: The gebitekin technique

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.(Ann Thorac Surg 2021;111:e443-6)(c) 2021 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons