Axillary Hyperhidrosis

To the Editor.—  We were pleased to note the success Andersen and his colleagues (231:1026, 1975) have had in treating axillary hyperhidrosis in more than 250 patients by the employment of the simple surgical technique we introduced in 1963.Although Andersen states that current "topical treatment of hyperhidrosis of the axillae is, nine times out of ten, ineffective," we would like to record that we have now discovered a topical antiperspirant system that is even more effective than our simple surgical procedure. Although the method was initially outlined last year,¹ it is fully detailed in a forthcoming article.²In essence, complete axillary anhidrosis, as demonstrated by sustained garment armpit dryness, could regularly be achieved in hyperhidrotic patients within 48 hours by the following trinary technique: (1) local application of 20% aluminum chloride hexahydrate in anhydrous ethyl alcohol (200-proof); (2) making this application on the dry, unwashed, nonsweating axilla