Endoscopic Transthoracic Sympathectomy - Miami, FL

I hope my story helps someone as I know how hard it is to live with hyperhidrosis.
I have been suffering from hyperhidrosis since my early teens. The affected areas were my hands, feet and armpits. Being born and raised in a cold climate I was able to hide my hands in gloves, wore dark thick fabrics, and had many other tricks to conceal my embarrassing symptoms. As a young woman I went through a lot of mortifying moments dating when a guy tries to hold your hand. Fear of a handshake made me avoid social situations. At job interviews the only thing I would be thinking of were my sweaty hands, which would get even sweatier during meeting new people.
I tried every topical antiperspirant available for purchase - no result. I had Botox injections with no success. Prescription drugs didn't help either.
Upon moving to South Florida my sweating got worse. My armpits were wet almost all the time (my only salvation were Thompson Tees bought from Amazon), but my hands became a real problem. I avoided meeting new neighbors, at business meetings at work I sat as far away from the others as possible hoping they wouldn't want to walk that far to shake hands at the end of the meeting. I couldn't play with my little niece because of the fear that if I were to lift her up to spin around she would slip out of my sweaty hands and get hurt. Not to mention petting my cat. Cat hairs would be almost glued to my hand after touching her.
I've been doing a lot of research on ETS. I knew that this was my only option to finally get rid of sweaty hands. I read reputable medical literature describing the procedure and all possible side effects. I did not trust the online reviews. Some of them sounded kind of crazy. So I came to conclusion that the worst case scenario would be: compensatory sweating (occurs in about 80% of those treated for hand sweating only), Horner's (0.5%), gustatory sweating, post op pain (manageable) and a chance of a collapsed lung (treated in the OR). To me, except for Horner's nothing seemed as bad as my sweaty hands. Considering that the chances were pretty low, I finally decided to have the ETS done.
I found a doctor in Miami who performs ETS and made an appointment. In order not to drive there again I also scheduled the surgery the following day. I figured I could always cancel if for some reason I do not feel comfortable. I had all blood work done at home and had it faxed to the doctor's office prior to my visit. Dr. Edelman was the nicest doctor I have ever met. He truly cares about his patients, I could tell. We talked in detail about the risks of the procedure. I initially wanted to have two nerves clamped, one for hand sweating and one for the armpits. The doctor advised that clamping more than one nerve would increase my chances of getting compensatory sweating, which I didn't want to happen. I knew about MiraDry, and figured I could always have that done later for armpits. My biggest concern were my hands. Dr. Edelman reassured me I would not get Horner's, since he would not go anywhere near that area.
So I did it! My surgery was about a week ago. Was much easier on me than I expected. I had to spend two night in Miami. Right after I woke up from anesthesia my whole body was dry, including my hands!!! I went back to the hotel and saw the doctor the following morning right before driving back home. I had a moderate chest pain the day of surgery that significantly improved the next day. I have two incisions in each armpit with no stitches to remove. I think a surgical glue was used to close the incisions. I can see it is already peeling off.
As of today my hands are warm and dry. For the first time of my life I shook hands with people without any embarrassment. I actually on purpose put myself through a stressful situation to "test" my hands. No sweat, no even a slight moisture. I couldn't be happier!! As for compensatory sweating, I don't have any. It might be too early for me to tell, but I can't imagine anything being worse than my sweaty hands. I did notice a slight moisture above my upper lip. You can't see it, it is very slight. i just noticed since I didn't have it before. I am really hoping not to develop any compensatory sweating. All I can say right now I am VERY happy with the results of ETS!! I will keep everyone posted.

It has been a month since I had the ETS surgery. My hands are still warm and dry. They don't sweat no matter what, even when it is 85 degrees outside.
I did develop a very mild form of compensatory sweating. I noticed an increase of sweating in my left armpit, chest, and a very slight moisture on my back. The good thing is that it happened to me maybe four times in the last month. Unlike my hands that would sweat every day, compensatory sweating is very inconsistent. Most days, except for my armpits, I don't sweat at all. I also noticed a decrease of feet sweating. I'd say by about 30%.
Overall, I am very happy with the results of the ETS surgery. I can say with confidence this was one of the best decisions that I've ever made.

I have to share this with anyone who might consider having ETS surgery. It has been about 5 years and I got hit with severe compensatory sweating. It is a hundred times worse than when my hands would sweat. The first 3 years after the surgery I had no sweating anywhere. I bought a lot of light colored clothing and I was so happy with ETS. Then about two years ago I gradually started sweating on my chest, stomach and back. I didn't think it was the compensatory sweating because I was under the impression that if it were to happen, it would have happened within a year from the surgery, but I was wrong. It look it 3 years to develop. My family doctor and several dermatologists couldn't figure this out. I stopped taking the antidepressant because they can sometimes cause sweating, I stopped drinking coffee, I got a prescription for medication that decreases the sweating. Nothing worked. The compensatory sweating I have now is horrible. I have to wear black only, change my shirts during the day, I am constantly embarrassed and worried someone would notice. This is bad. I don't know if this will ever decrease or go away as I can't find enough information on this. I am unsure what to do. I plan on going to see the surgeon who did the surgery and discuss my options. On a positive side, my hands are dry. I am not sure if I would ask for reversal. Reversal doesn't guarantee the compensatory sweating would go away. I am sad and I want to warn everyone that you will most likely develop the sweating after ETS. It is just the matter of time. You have to decide what is worse for you, sweaty hands or sweaty body.