Abstract:

Objective　To explore the feasibility of a new therapeutics to bromhidrosis: the resection of intercostobrachial nerves (ICBN), and to provide associated anatomic basis.　Methods　Axillary region dissection was performed on 25 adult embalmed cadavers (50 sides), including the observation of the innervations of axillary hairs regional skin. In addition, 20 breast cancer patients with bromhidrosis underwent mastectomy removing or retaining ICBN for further exploring the effect of ICBN resection on bromhidrosis. Results　ICBN can be divided into five types, including vacancy type(4%) , single trunk type(10%), single trunk with branches type(50%), two trunks type(28%) and three trunks type(8%). For 95.83% specimens, ICBN dominated the axillary hairs region. Among the total, single trunk type ICBN dominated axillary hairs region completely, however, only inferior trunks or branches of the other types ICBN dominated the same region, meanwhile, the upper trunks or branches entered the inner part of upper arm singly or joined with medial brachial cutaneous nerve. 34% of lateral cutaneous branch of the third intercostal nerve dominated a part of axillary hairs region. Resecting of ICBN can eliminated bromhidrosis, retaining of ICBN has no effect on brohidrosis.　Conclusions　Resecting ICBN or it's inferior trunks or branches will terminate secretion of sweat glands in axillary hairs regional skin, it can be used as a new method to treat bromhidrosis.

Key words:  bromhidrosis；   , Intercostobrachial nerves；   , Resection