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Excessive Armpit SweatingAll of us have underarm or armpit sweating. In its physiological and normal level it appears during daytime and goes up and down depending on external temperature, exercise level, and some emotional situations. On the other-hand there are patients (about ½% of the population) that suffer from excessive armpit sweating. In this condition patients have continuous excessive amount of sweat in their armpits not controlled by simple antiperspirants. Those patients suffer from social and functional embarrassments because they have to hide their excessive armpit sweating with constant changing of their clothing or having two to three layers of clothing in order to hide it. In many situations this excessive armpit sweating comes together with excessive hand sweating. If the commercially available antiperspirants do not help it then there are medicated antiperspirants such as aluminum chloride preparations that might help (Drysol, Maxim). Botox injections became fashionable and an accepted method of treating focal armpit sweating (axillary hyperhidrosis). With this modality injection into the sub-cutaneus tissues of the botulinum toxin (BOTOX) the sweating production can be stopped on a temporary basis. The effect of the injections can last anywhere between 2 to 6 months. It requires repeated injections and at times the body produces some antibodies towards the toxin which shortens the therapeutic effect of the injection. It is also somewhat expensive. If all of those conservative modalities do not help then some surgical options are available. The old method of excision of the skin in the armpit area is now being replaced with the sub-dermal laser ablation. In this new and improved procedure destruction of the sweat glands in the armpit region is done with precision laser energy. The operation is carried out under mild sedation through very small cuts in the skin. There is a very minimal tissue destruction and or trauma to the area allowing for quick recovery and a return to normal activity. The success rate is about 85-90%. As more cases are done it seems that adding some mechanical aspect of axillary sweat-gland ablation is in order. After the laser ablation is finished Dr. Reisfeld uses the suction-currettage method to ensure a better and more complete end result. To learn more about this new procedure please visit Dr. Reisfeld's Armpit Sweating page.
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