Sparing subcutaneous septa avoids skin necrosis in the treatment of axillary bromhidrosis with suction-curettage shaving

Background Surgical treatment of axillary bromhidrosis or hyperhidrosis involves the removal of apocrine glands. There are several methods to eliminate apocrine glands; however, many methods reported significant rates of skin necrosis. To avoid this problem while preserving comparable results, we used a modified method sparing several subcutaneous septa, which successfully avoided skin necrosis completely in our series of 19 consecutive cases. Methods This is a prospective case series in a single center by a single surgeon. Unlike other series using suction-curettage shaver, we preserved some septa. The skin flaps between septa were approximately shaved as thin as 2 mm. The patients rated their smell on a 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS-11) preoperatively and postoperatively. The results were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results A total of 19 consecutive patients were included. The mean degree of preoperative and postoperative smell on the NRS-11 scale was 7.200 and 2.825, respectively. There was only one patient who developed postoperative ecchymosis. No other complications, such as skin necrosis, hematoma, or infection were found. Conclusions We modified the suction-curettage cartilage shaver to eliminate the complications. Our method reveals a satisfying result, and there were no significant complications.