Excessive Sweating and Odor Mountain View

Excess sweating and odor from axillary sweating is a common problem. Although many treatments have been proposed, they have the disadvantage of invasive surgery, complicated and risky surgery such as sympathectomy and scarring. Botox has also been used with some success, but this is very expensive, requires a lot of botulinum toxin, and must be repeated when it wears off.

We can offer patients who have the problem of excess axillary (armpit) sweating, whether or not accompanied by bad odor, the option of Precision Tx 1440 laser treatment for excess sweating.

The procedure is done under local tumescent anesthesia. Tiny incisions hidden in skin folds in the armpit are made and the area under the hair-bearing skin is infiltrated with anesthetic solution. The single 1440 nm wavelength of the Precision Tx laser fiber is then used to destroy the sweat glands in the layer just under the skin. The laser fiber is passed back and forth from two directions until sufficient energy is delivered, and tissue resistance to passage of the fiber is achieved. The Thermal Guide on the Precision Tx platform is programmed to raise the temperature to the therapeutic level and shut off if this level is exceeded, thus preventing any thermal injury or burn to the skin.

In a study by Alberto Goldman, MD, from Porto Alegre Brazil, in the Journal of Dermatologic Surgery, 2008, 60 % of patients had 75% or better reduction in sweating area, and 23.5 % had 51-75% reduction. This means that 82% had good or excellent results.

The recovery was quick and post-operative pain was minimal. Swelling lasted about a week, there was temporary decrease of sensation for about 3-5 weeks, which gradually returned to normal in all patients. Temporary hair reduction was noted in 47% of patients.

With our long experience in liposuction, both vaser and traditional, and the addition of Precision Tx to our practice in early 2012, we are pleased to offer an effective treatment to patients with the problem of excess sweating, whether or not accompanied by excess underarm odor, the benefits of this technology. We do not expect that insurance will cover this procedure, which affects 1.4 % of the population or about 4 million people in the US.

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  • Klopper M, Fischer G, Blugerman G. Laser-assisted suction of axillary sweat glands and axillary epilation. In: Shiffman MA, Di Giuseppe A, editors. LiposuctionFprinciples and practice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin; 2006. p. 505–15.
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