The treatment of chronic digital pain and cold intolerance due to Raynaud's phenomenon is quite difficult especially it is combined with scleroderma. Several surgical trial such as cervicothoracic sympathectomy have been attempted for the medically un...
The treatment of chronic digital pain and cold intolerance due to Raynaud's phenomenon is quite difficult especially it is combined with scleroderma. Several surgical trial such as cervicothoracic sympathectomy have been attempted for the medically unresponsible Raynaud's phenomenon, but their results were unsatisfactory. We have tried peripheral periarterial sympathectomy for the 44 years old female patient who had medically unresponsible severe Raynaud's phenomenon with scleroderma. Periarterial adventitial stripping was performed at the level of wrist, superficial palmar arch, common digital artery and proper digital artery about 1.5-2 cm in length. Preoperative angiography and radioactive angiography were done and preoperatively and postoperatively the blood flow was measured by the desk top computer-aided histogram. Both hands digital pain were markedly reduced after operation and blood flow increased as compaired with the preoperative measure.