OBJECTIVES Endoscopic transthoracic sympathicotomy (ETS) is a minimal invasive procedure of thoracic sympathetic blockage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cardiac autonomic nervous activity after ETS in order to confirm the reliability and safety of ETS. METHODS A series of electrophysiological studies were performed before and 1 week after bilateral 2nd and 3rd thoracic sympathicot...

provided the original work is properly cited. CC Congenital pericardial defect is a rare but potentially fatal disorder as it can cause severe hemodynamic compromise. Its asymptomatic nature and lack of diagnostic roles in chest radiography or electrocardiography (ECG) make diagnosis difficult [1]. We report a case of a patient with previously undiagnosed pericardial defect, who developed ST el...

OBJECTIVE To analyse the severity of various symptoms and the developmental life history in social phobia. To estimate the value of ETS in the treatment of chronic social phobia. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Clinic for Psychoneurology and Surgery in Tampere, Finland. SUBJECTS Consecutive series of patients (n = 51). INTERVENTIONS Endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy. MAIN OUTCOME M...