Raynaud’s syndrome – sympathetic nerve surgery for good results

  Raynaud’s syndrome, also known as extremity arteriospasm, is a spastic disease of the small arteries of the extremities caused by a dysfunction of the sympathetic nerves innervating the peripheral blood vessels. Clinically, it manifests as intermittent pale, cyanotic and flushed changes in the skin color of the extremities in response to cold stimuli or emotional agitation, often accompanied by severe pain like drilling in the fingers. Some are without any underlying disease and have an unclear etiology (called Raynaud’s disease); others are secondary to some primary disease and have more severe symptoms (called Raynaud’s phenomenon), both of which are collectively referred to as Raynaud’s syndrome.  The traditional treatment of Raynaud’s syndrome lacks effective methods, because its onset is directly related to sympathetic excitation, so sympathectomy has good therapeutic effect on it. After the operation, the patient’s pain symptoms in the fingertips are significantly relieved or even disappeared. Surgery can significantly slow down the development of the disease while improving the symptoms. At present, thoracoscopic minimally invasive surgery is used with minimal trauma, fast postoperative recovery and positive results.