Researchers from the Division of Thoracic Surgery Division of Vascular Surgery, Hospital das Clinicas, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil have performed a much needed study regarding "quality of life [indicators] before and after thoracic sympathectomy. The lead author of the study, Dr. Milanez de Campos states that the [main] objective was to assess the quality of life of patients who underwent thoracic sympathectomy.

Of 378 patients, 57.4% had palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis; 25% with palmar, plantar, and axillary hyperhidrosis; 15.7% with pure axillary hyperhidrosis; and 6.5% with facial hyperhidrosis.

According to the authors, "successful sympathectomies were performed in 90.3% of the patients and mean follow-up was 12.4 +/- 8.3 months.

Of the total number of patients, 93.4% answered the quality of life questionnaire, 86.4% of whom noted improvement after the procedure. The authors concluded that "thoracic sympathectomy is a simple, effective, safe method for the treatment of hyperhidrosis, resulting in an improved quality of life for patients. The questionnaire documents this change."