Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Dont Sweat It


The technical term for excessive sweating is hyperhydrosis. This can be seen anywhere on the body but usually is most problematic when it occurs on the hands, face, and in the underarm area (axillary region). The most common area for complaints is in the underarm area.

There are many women and men who either have excessive underarm sweating or would prefer to not have to wear antiperspirant or cannot tolerate antiperspirant. Traditional methods of reducing under-arm sweating revolved around the injection of botox. While this is still a reasonable treatment option the recurring cost and need for multiple injections have spurred patients to ask for better solutions. My answer to these patient requests has resulted in a permanent solution.

The procedure is called SASS underarm TM (small access subdermal shaving). It can be performed under local or general anesthesia in about an hour. The majority or all of the underarm sweat glands and often hair follicles are removed through a small incision about the width of a dime. Recovery and down-time is relatively simple, involving a simple compression dressing for a few days.

All the best,