VATS vs ETS: Any difference?

[artichoke]

I developed severe palmar and planta hyperhidrosis last year and am currently look at surgery options since it is affecting me too much at work and in my personal life.
I live in Singapore, some searches I have done show 2 procedures which public hospitals here offer - Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) Sympathectomy and Endoscopic Transthoracic Sympathetomy (ETS). Are they any different? I am more inclined to go for VATS since it sounds like a more local fix to the problem, rather than experiencing side effects like ETS. This is what the website says,

VATS sympathectomy is an operation done via two 5mm incisions on each side of the chest. The surgeon divides the nerve supplying the sweat glands in the hands.

I am wondering does anyone knows anything about VATS or has experienced it who would be happy to share your experience. I am currently taking TCM for this. Started the course in October and got slightly better (dry hands and feet most of the time) but it could be because of the much cooler weather from Oct to Jan. First week of Feb, I stopped the course since I thought the "fault has been righted" but the sweat came back with vengence by 3rd week of Feb and the condition looks much worse than before; I drip sweat occassionally then, all the time now. I will give myself another 2 to 3 months for TCM because they are not cheap. At the same time, I will try to fix an appointment with the hospital to speak to the doctors there.

I intend to wait till end of the year to decide whether should I take the plunge into surgery. If the condition started last year, hopefully, it is not chronic and I hope it goes away. During the next few months, I intend to take a break from work since it doesn't look good to work in such condition and see if the decrease in responsibility and stress help.

I would like to hear from people who had (or people they know) been through VATS or had heard about, study about it. Thank you and be well.

[mia]

I am surprised noone responded to your question. Hope it is not too late to answer your question:
Sympathectomy - no matter by what name or technique - will by definition disrupt the sympathetic chain (apart from the modified ramicotomy), and disable part of the sympathetic nervous system. It is a common misconception and misrepresentation that ETS or VATS (which is just renamed sympathectomy - video assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy) will disable the nerves that supply he sweat glands in the palms. That is not he case, it will affect more than sweat glands, - the heart, lungs, immune system, etc etc). It is enough to look up on the internet a representation of the SNS to see this, or to read the medical literature on the subject. Cardiac denervation, lowered heart rate, reduced capacity for exercise/endurance is a fact and has been reported for many years.
Sympathectomy has been refashioned and re-marketed under many names (to mislead the ...market).

Here are few names for the same nerve damage marketed as elective surgery:
• Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS)—refers only to those procedures that use a video camera to help with visualization of the intrathoracic cavity.
• Sympathectomy
• Sympathicotomy—refers to the division of the sympathetic chain without removal of any section thereof. Unless otherwise specified, this would exclude ablation techniques that are done without a directed division of the chain.
• Ablation—refers to procedures where the chain is destroyed using electrocautery or laser without directed division.
• T2 sympathectomy—resection of the T2 ganglion, generally achieved by resecting the sympathetic chain between the middle of the second rib (T2 rib) and the third rib (T3).
• T2 sympathicotomy—division of the sympathetic chain over the middle of the second rib and division of the sympathetic chain over the middle of the third rib. This accomplishes isolation of the T2 ganglion that is found in between the two cuts. (This nomenclature should be used for all subsequent levels (ie, T3 sympathectomy/sympathicotomy involves resection/division of the nerve chain over the third and fourth ribs achieving T3 ganglion isolation and so on).
-Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy
-thoracoscopic sympathectomy (TSSYM)
-cervicothoracic sympathetic ganglionectomy
-Stereotactic percutaneous thermoablation
-minendoscopic sympathectomy (MES)
-Endoscopic Transthoracic Sympathicotomy
-BUDS, bilateral upper dorsal sympathectomy
-sympathicotonia
-endoscopic thoracic sympathotomy
etc etc