Treatment of Axillary Osmidrosis with Power- Assisted Lipoplasty(PAL)

Seo, Sang Won; Kim, Hyung Taek; Chang, Choong Hyun; Hong, Yoon Gi; Whang, Kwi Whan

Abstract

Axillary osmidrosis is caused by excessive apocrine gland secretion, which causes an unpleasant odor. Axillary osmidrosis causes difficulty in social activities and personal handicap. Many surgical procedures have been introduced for treatment of axillary osmidrosis. Most of them are based on the surgical excision of subcutaneous tissue including apocrine glands. However, these methods also have complications such as wide surgical scar, skin necrosis, hematoma, seroma. For this reason, developing a new treatment that is as effective as surgery but causes fewer complications is reasonable. We have used the technique of power-assisted lipoplasty(PAL) as a method of treatment for axillary osmidrosis. From July 2003 to June 2004, a total of 45 patients(26 men and 19 women) had been treated with this procedure for axillary osmidrosis. Forty patients(88.89 percent) had good results, and 2 patients(4.47 percent) had poor results. The power-assisted lipoplasty(PAL) for axillary osmidrosis has the advantages of a high success rate with minimal complications and rapid recovery for daily activity. Therefore, power-assisted lipoplasty(PAL) is a viable option for treatment of axillary osmidrosis.