I remember a patient, about twenty years ago, whose sweat smelled so bad that I couldn’t stay in their presence for more than five minutes. It was a pestilential odor reminiscent of vomit. Not daring to tell them directly, I had considered sending them an anonymous letter at one point, which of course I never did. Such a case is rare, but many people struggle with excessive and bothersome sweating.
Over the course of my practice, which spans more than forty years of experience, I have yet to see this unfortunate condition completely disappear. As for the underarms, liposuction can improve a patient’s life by 50 to 75%.
The glands responsible for sweat are partly located in the fat layer, just beneath the dermis. Therefore, it is very easy to reach them with a fine liposuction cannula. In most cases, patients manage this kind of problem with regular antiperspirants, usually based on aluminum salts, but it is a chore to apply this product continuously, and it is complicated to do so at all times of the day, not to mention that excessive use can become irritating, and the underarm has delicate skin where powerful antiperspirants effective on hands and feet cannot always be used.
There is another method recognized as effective for relieving axillary hyperhidrosis, which is Botox injection, the same product used to correct certain facial wrinkles, especially frown lines. But the cost ends up being excessive if it has to be repeated twice a year for the rest of one’s life. For extreme cases, not so long ago, the entire involved area of the underarm was surgically removed, leaving a long and wide scar. Again, liposuction comes to the rescue… in moderation. An iodine solution sprinkled with cornstarch allows for the localization of sweat glands in the underarms. This is the Minor test.
This area is anesthetized as is done for any other site to be liposculpted, and since the glands are on the surface of the fat layer, a fine cannula passed very superficially will dislodge them permanently. It should be noted that to obtain the full benefit of this procedure, one must wait about 6 to 8 months, as the few glands that may have resisted the cannula will gradually be destroyed by the scar fibrosis produced by the healing process.
If, however, a certain percentage of the glands remain, which is likely, the simplest deodorant would have every chance of taking care of it.
