One of Dr. Telaranta’s patients who had made a complaint began to experience strong reactions of anxiety which did not go away even after corrective surgery. Later the patient committed suicide.
Surgery involving the clamping of sympathetic nerve trunks to prevent excessive perspiration and blushing appears to be of questionable value.
Complications have been reported, ranging from phantom perspiration to blood clots in the brain.
The Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment (FinOHTA), which is part of the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) recently conducted a survey on the various effects of hyperhidrosis surgery at the request of the Finnish Medical Association.
Finnish surgeon Timo Telaranta has performed about 2,000 such operations at private clinics in Helsinki and Oulu in the past ten years.
The National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs has issued three warnings to Telaranta and the Provincial Government of Southern Finland has issued one.
Many doctors have serious reservations about the idea of treating complaints such as excessive perspiration, blushing, and performance anxiety by severing people’s nerves.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/1101979734791
