Objective To evaluate the postoperative effects of different thoracoscopic sympathectomy on palmar hyperhidrosis patients. Methods We searched the Wanfang Database, CNKI, Weipu, CBM, PubMed, Cochrane Library (from inception to March 2016) to identify studies about thoracoscopic sympathectomy on palmar hyperhidrosis patients. Quality of the included studies was evaluated. The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan5.3 software. Results A total of 15 studies (9 randomized controlled trials, 3 cohort studies, and 3 retrospective studies) involving 2 542 patients were included. The result of meta-analysis suggested that there was statistical difference in postoperative compensatory hyperhidrosis (OR=4.88, 95% CI 1.88 to 12.68,P=0.001) between T2 sympathectomy and T3 sympathectom. Compared with T2-4 sympathectomy patients, the risk of postoperative compensatory hyperhidrosis in T2-4 sympathectomy group was significantly lower (OR=5.13, 95% CI 2.91 to 9.02,P<0.000 01). Compared with T3 sympathectomy group, the risk of postoperative compensatory hyperhidrosis and hand dry in the T4 sympathectomy group was significantly lower (OR=2.91, 95% CI 2.06 to 4.12,P<0.000 01;OR=14.60, 95% CI 3.06 to 69.63,P=0.000 8), respectively. Conclusion The rate of postoperative compensatory hyperhidrosis or hand dry is lower on T4 sympathectomy patients and supposed to be the best segment for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis patients.
