Many of us go red and get a little sweaty when embarrassed or when exerting ourselves.  However, severe facial or sweating can cause embarrassment and make sufferers feel so uncomfortable around other people that it leads to difficulties in both work and social situations.

Excessive facial blushing often begins in the teenage years and can either occur spontaneously or in reaction to stimuli like meeting new people. It is the result of a chemical being released from nerve fibres to the face.

Hyperhydrosis is the medical term used to describe the excessive sweating around the hands, face and armpit areas caused by the body attempting to maintain its normal internal temperature.

Treatments
With an experienced surgeon, both excessive blushing and sweating can be dramatically reduced by Endoscopic Transthoracic Sympathectomy (ETS surgery).   The procedure involves selectively destroying parts of the sympathetic nerve chain in the chest cavity. It is a relatively short (approximately 40 minutes) and minimally invasive procedure, performed by a Consultant Vascular Surgeon.

In some patients other non-surgical solutions may be appropriate. ETS surgery will only be carried out if your consultant deems the alternatives not to be appropriate or where they have proved ineffective for you.  It is important to discuss individual circumstances, benefits, drawbacks and side-effects with your consultant before going ahead with any treatment or surgery.

Our consultants
ETS surgery at Highgate Hospital is carried out by one of our Consultant Vascular Surgeons, Mr David Greenstein. 

Make an appointment
You do not need a referral from your GP.  However, it’s a good idea to talk to your GP beforehand, as not only will they be able to give you general advice about surgery but they can make sure that, with your permission, any important information about your medical history is passed to the Consultant Surgeon. 

To make an outpatient appointment, please call us on 020 8341 4182.