News » 'Liposuction' for excess sweating
Excessive underarm sweating can be cured by a minimally invasive surgical technique, German doctors say.
Under a local anaesthetic, sweat glands are sucked out of the underarm using methods pioneered by liposuction.
The majority of 51 patients involved in a trial experienced a 75% reduction in sweat, and a "huge improvement" in quality of life, the doctors said.
The results of the trial have been published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The procedure, which involves inserting a cannula under the skin and applying suction, takes 20 minute per armpit. The patient is then monitored for an hour, before they can go home.
"It is easier and faster than any of the other surgical techniques currently used," says Dr Falk Bechara of the Ruhr University, Bochum, "and it really does work"