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Can the sympathectomy clamps move from their original position in the body?

Sympatectomy for excessive hand sweating or palmar hyperhidrosis has undergone improvements over the last few years. The old method, in which the surgeon had to make large incisions in the neck, chest or the back in order to reach the sympathetic chain, was replaced with the endoscopic method which now enables the surgeon to reach that location with minimal trauma and minimal down time. The next change came with the application of small titanium clamps to the sympathetic chain in order to stop the flow of nerve impulses to the sweat glands. The advantage of this method is that it gives a possibility for a reversal in case that a patient develops side effects which are worse than the original problem. To date, Dr. Reisfeld has performed 30 reversals with a success rate of 68%. One question which is often asked is if the clamps move if a patient is engaged in heavy physical activity. After performing thousands of surgeries using the clamping method, Dr. Reisfeld is not aware of cases which showed migration of the clips. Click here for more info.