Sympathetic surgery for psychiatry. Case report

One of the authors has, for many years, operated patients suffering from so cial phobias by using compression block on the sympathetic nerve (1). The F innish health insurance system has not accepted this treatment as valid for reimbursement. We planned a research based on a design of pre- and post-su rgery interviews conducted by a psychiatrist. Data collection was started i n 1997. The sample now consists of 45 persons, of whom 20 have also been in terviewed after the operation. The results are fascinatingly good. Only one person did not benefit from the operation. We present two illustrating exa mples. As a conclusion, we suggest that this treatment should be accepted a s a valid treatment for patients who have found no relief to their symptoms of social phobic disorder from psychotherapies or pharmacotherapies.