PASS – Patients Against Sympathectomy Surgery
Why has this site been set up?
Learn more about ETS side effects
This site was originally set up in September 2001, shut down in 2008, and was reopened in March 2012. It is a collaboration of former ETS (Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy), ESB (Endoscopic sympathetic block), and Reversal (reversal of ETS) patients who have had ETS surgery, and have been unhappy with the side effects.
Facts you should know
Important facts about ETS surgery
- ETS has been BANNED in Sweden and STOPPED in Scandanavia since 2003.
- ETS has been BANNED on patients under the age of 20 in Taiwan since 2004.
- No objective trial or full systematic review has been performed on ETS/ESB.
- No objective trial or full systematic review has been performed on the reversal surgery, which attempts to repair the destroyed nerve.
What is ETS surgery?
Learn more about ETS surgery
ETS is a “minimally-invasive” procedure whereby a nerve (T2) on the sympathetic chain is cauterised, thereby stopping the signals that causes sweating on the palms and face, as well as flushing and blushing.
Science & News
Read the latest news about ETS
Coverage of all the latest information regarding ETS.
Get in touch
New Zealand patients
TIMBO McCarty, an Australian/New Zealander who had been suffering from the side-effects of ETS for eight years and had been working on this Australian website, had enough of the side-effects and committed suicide on October 29, 2007, at the age of 45. His father and mother asked me to put this on the website and to let the world know that he wasn’t willing to put up with the side-effects any longer.
More information
Is there a reversal available? →
Yes. There are two reversal procedures available. If the nerve is clamped, then this a simple procedure of having it removed, but if scarring has occured and the clamp has been on the nerve for even a small period of time then the nerve might be destroyed. If the nerve is cauterised or destroyed, then a reversal method involving a nerve regraft must be employed. Read more… →
Yes. There are two reversal procedures available. If the nerve is clamped, then this a simple procedure of having it removed, but if scarring has occured and the clamp has been on the nerve for even a small period of time then the nerve might be destroyed. If the nerve is cauterised or destroyed, then a reversal method involving a nerve regraft must be employed. Read more… →
Are there alternatives to surgery? →
As we do not condone ETS or ESB (clamping), we offer suggestions to treat conditions such as blushing/flushing/sweating and to assist with the side-effects of ETS and ESB. Read more… →
