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Axillary osmidrosis is characterized as excessive malodor caused by excessive apocrine secretion in the axillary skin. To remove the apocrine glands, various types of treatment method for axillary osmidrosis have been introduced. They could be summarized as enbloc excision of skin and subcutaneous tissue, manual or instrumental subdermal shaving, laser dessication, and axillary liposuction. Surgical removal of apocrine glands has been the favored treatment for the several decades, but such complications as long-term postoperative immobilization period, skin necrosis, hematoma, and visible scars have been frequent. For the purpose of reducing these complications, some operators have advocated other procedures such as axillary liposuction or laser dessication, however, the recurrence rates were relatively higher. From March 1999 to May 2000, we have corrected the axillary osmidrosis in 172 cases (86 patients) using the superficial liposuction and subdermal manual shaving through a small midline incision. There were hematomas in 3 cases (2 patients) and 1 case resulted in the skin flap necrosis, whereas long-term immobilization period and visible axillary scars were improved compared to the conventional shaving method. Only 2 patients (2.3%) complained about recurrence after 2 months of follow-up period in osmidrosis, but they were cured by re-operation.
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