No Sympathy for Sweaty Palms

We’ve marveled at CT-guided procedures for years — but you know a technique has truly arrived when it starts being applied to … social concerns. New data presented at RSNA suggests that CT-guided percutaneous sympathectomy works for curing sweaty palms:

Percutaneous sympathectomy with CT fluoroscopy is a 20-minute procedure requiring no anesthesia, with no risk of nerve damage or bleeding and only minimal risk of Horner syndrome. Most patients require a single treatment for each side. As with surgical sympathectomy, there is an unpredictable but rare risk of compensatory sweating at the level of the chest.
For the procedure, interventional radiologists make a single needle puncture through the upper back and, using CT guidance, inject a phenol-based medication that interrupts the nerve tracts and nodes that transmit signals to the sweat glands. “This is the most precise and effective treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis available,” Dr. Brat said.

It’s funny — the thought of all that radiation, and a needle in our backs, actually gives us palmar hyperhidrosis…
More from Drs. Brat and Bouziane at CTFluoroscopy.org…