Transthoracic sympathectomy and human thermoregulatory problems

摘要

I write to invite you to publish this letter in the Journal of Thermal Biology to bring a health issue to the attention of both medical practitioners and scientists working in human thermoregulation. 1 wish to alert the surgeons involved and potential patients of problems that might be encountered following Endoscopic Trans-thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS). It would also benefit those who now suffer to gain a better understanding of the causes of the thermoregulatory problems experienced following ETS. Surgery: The situation is best illustrated by reference to my own experience. In 2002, I underwent ETS for facial blushing. I regret that I was not made aware of the severity of the procedure, nor of the likelihood of the side effects experienced. The surgery involved electro-cautery on both sides between the first and second ribs. On the left side bleeding and scarring also involved Tier 1 ganglion. One means of establishing the "success" of ETS involves submerging the hands in ice, after which thermography is used to determine the pattern of reheating of the hands. This tends to differ from that of normal people in that they are partially reheated from the fingers, rather than wholly from the main body. Many ETS patients initially experience the sensation of warmer than normal hands, this passes with time to be followed by hands that become colder than normal. Reynauld's disease is common in post ETS patients.