Treatment of axillary osmidrosis: a comparison between subcutaneous laser and superficial liposuction curettage.

[BACKGROUND] Axillary osmidrosis can lead to personal and social problems, particularly in Asian culture. Superficial liposuction with curettage and subcutaneous laser are surgical intervention commonly used for osmidrosis.

[OBJECTIVE] Retrospectively, we compared the effectiveness and complications between superficial liposuction with curettage and subcutaneous laser in an Asian population.

[METHODS] Totally, 66 and 19 patients receiving subcutaneous laser and superficial liposuction with curettage (LC) were recruited. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed by patients subjectively. Recurrence rate of osmidrosis and complications were also evaluated.

[RESULTS] 95% of patients showed good-to-excellent improvement in LC group and only 30% of patients showing good-to-excellent results in laser group (P < 0.01). Binary logistic regression revealed that the odds ratio of LC was 53.288 (P = 0.006) for >50% improvement in osmidrosis. The recurrence rate was not significantly different (P = 0.139), however, the duration to recurrence of osmidrosis was significantly longer in LC group (P < 0.01). The complication rate was 31% in LC group and 6% in laser group (P < 0.01).

[CONCLUSION] Superficial liposuction with curettage provides more effective treatment with higher complication rates and is possibly suitable for severe patients. For mild-to-moderate osmidrosis, or preferring a better cosmetic result or short recovery, subcutaneous laser could be applied.