We all know what's it like to work up a sweat, but what if you couldn't turn it off? That's the case for people who suffer from excessive sweating.

The condition is called Hyperhidrosis, and thanks to a unique procedure some people are getting help.

"I've always had sweaty palms since I was little," said Kelsey Cummings, Eagle.

But for 14-year-old Kelsey Cummings, the problem only got worse as she got older, especially in school.

"I really didn't want to hold hands with anyone or shake hands or anything. If we a took a test or I had homework or something, little wet spots would get all over the paper and people could like see," Cummings said.

And that made Cummings feel embarrassed and a little self-conscious because unlike now, her hands were always wet.

"You could see the moisture like in the lines in your hands really bad - like they would be soaked -- like you dipped your hands in water," she said.

"Sweating is a normal part of everybody's physiology and when you're hot, you sweat, and when you exercise, you sweat. But there's something called excessive sweating," said Dr. Ed Raines, Cardiothoracic Surgeon.

"It becomes a problem in your lifestyle where normal situations of stress or anxiety illicits and exuberant amount of sweating where it threatens your job or your social situation so that people who play the piano don't just sweat they leave puddles of sweat on the piano keys," he said.

But according to Raines, the problem known as Hyperhidrosis can be fixed. Using a robot allows him to make the surgical procedure much less invasive.

"In the old days, you'd have to make an incision in the chest, which was a big operation. It had a lot of pain and side effects," he said.

Now the surgery, which involves removing a portion of the sympathetic nervous system near the ribs and chest, requires just two small incisions.

"Even though they're little, tiny stab incisions, you put the trocars in and you have to deflate one lung at a time and then go to the spine. It's really a easy surgery to do, and there's little discomfort afterwards," Raines said.

Raines said he's performed about ten sympethectomies using the robot, and each procedure has been a success.

Cummings said right after her surgery her hands were dry

"I can hold a pencil. Candy doesn't melt in my hands. I don't leave wet marks on the table and paper and stuff -- just little thing you kind of take for granted," she said.

Raines said if you suffer from excessive sweating on your hands, under your arms, or on your face, you should first go to a dermatologist.

There are some cremes and therapies that work, but if you've exhausted all other options with no success you may want to consider surgery.

He said the surgery is relatively simple and most people go home in a day or two.

He is the only surgeon in our region that performs the sympethectomy.