Modified tumescent superficial suction with curettage treatment for axillary bromidrosis: clinical experience of 280 cases.

BACKGROUND

Axillary bromidrosis adversely affects patients' social and personal life with excessive malodor. Although surgical resection of the apocrine glands is one effective and irreversible method for treating axillary bromidrosis, the postoperation complications cannot be ignored. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcome of the authors' modified tumescent superficial suction with a curettage procedure for axillary bromidrosis treatment.

METHODS

From January 2010 to December 2012, 450 patients with axillary bromidrosis visited the authors' plastic surgery outpatient department and received the modified treated using tumescent superficial suction with a curettage procedure. A total of 170 patients were lost to follow-up evaluation and eliminated from this study.

RESULTS

The follow-up period ranged from 5 to 35 months (mean 15.5 months). Among 280 patients, 261 (93.2 %) showed excellent to good results. Reoperation with the same procedure was performed for 15 patients, and all had excellent results afterward. The most common postoperative complication was transient ecchymosis (23.6 %).

CONCLUSION

The modified suction and curettage procedure is an optimal therapeutic strategy for axillary bromidrosis treatment.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .