Scan Magazine, Issue 87, April 2016

Page 74

Scan Magazine | Business Profile | Sympatix

Left: Endoscopic sympathetic block (ESB) offers relief by putting pressure to prevent impulses using tiny clips placed to the sympathetic nerves behind the chest cavity. Middle: The Endoscopic sympathetic block (ESB) method is a treatment aimed at controlling blushing, and sweating of the face, hands and underarms. Right: The ESB method is practised at a handful of private clinics: the Tilkka Hospital in Helsinki, Finland (pictured), as well as Rome and Merano in Italy.

Tackle your phobias with surgery A bright red face and sweaty palms and underarms can seriously affect a person’s daily routine. Although occasional nervousness is normal, once the symptoms start they can easily create a vicious cycle, where social phobia is often the root cause of the problem. But this can all be helped surgically. By Ndéla Faye | Photos: Sympatix

The Endoscopic sympathetic block (ESB) method developed by Dr. Timo Telaranta, creator of the Sympatix treatment, is aimed at controlling blushing as well as sweating on the face, hands and underarms. The endoscopic procedure offers relief by applying pressure to prevent impulses using tiny clips placed to the sympathetic nerves behind the chest cavity, thereby helping to alleviate symptoms. “The endoscopy is done as a day surgery, which is carried out under light anaesthesia. Most patients are able to return to work the following day,” says Telaranta. Telaranta began performing the new ESB method in 1997 to provide a new, gentler method to replace the 74 | Issue 87 | April 2016

more invasive Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS), where sympathetic nerves are cut. In the last ten years, Sympatix surgeons have treated over 3,500 patients using ESB and performed over 400 ETS-reversal operations. Currently the ESB method is practised at a handful of private clinics: in Helsinki in Finland as well as in Rome and Merano, Italy. “The risks associated with ESB are small. However, as with all surgical procedures, there are some possible side effects. Some patients report increased sweating in other parts of their body: usually, the worse the initial symptoms have been, the bigger the risk is that sweating elsewhere on the body increases,” Telaranta explains. The procedure is permanent but

can be reversed within one month of the surgery. ESB can also be used to alleviate social phobia and common fears such as fear of flying, heights or open spaces. “Many of our patients have tried therapy before coming to us, but in the long term it is costly and not always effective,” Telaranta says. “Patients often wish they could just stop blushing – but often the underlying cause for blushing is a severe form of social phobia. Through ESB, the blushing symptoms subside with the majority of patients.” The ESB method can also be used to decrease trembling of the body and hands, and can even help with stuttering. “We also have evidence that ESB has beneficial effects on tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease,” Telaranta concludes. For more information, please visit: www.sympatix.fi


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.