The amount of compensatory sweating depends on the patient, the damage that the white rami communicans incurs, and the amount of cell body reorganization in the spinal cord after surgery.
Other potential complications include inadequate resection of the ganglia, gustatory sweating, pneumothorax, cardiac dysfunction, post-operative pain, and finally Horner’s syndrome secondary to resection of the stellate ganglion.
www.ubcmj.com/pdf/ubcmj_2_1_2010_24-29.pdf

After severing the cervical sympathetic trunk, the cells of the cervical sympathetic ganglion undergo transneuronic degeneration
After severing the sympathetic trunk, the cells of its origin undergo complete disintegration within a year.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0442.1967.tb00255.x/abstract

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Maintenance of blood pressure is mostly dependent on sympathetic “tone”, and the sympathetic nerve innervates the entire vascular bed

Pharmacology and Physiology of Perivascular Nerves Regulating Vascular Function
Role of Perivascular Sympathetic Nerves and Regional Differences in the Features of Sympathetic Innervation of the Vascular System
Hiromichi Tsuru1), Noriaki Tanimitsu2) and Tomohisa Hirai2)
1) Department of Pharmacology, Toho University School of Medicine
2) Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hiroshima University School of Medicine
ABSTRACT: Maintenance of blood pressure is mostly dependent on sympathetic “tone”, and the sympathetic nerve innervates the entire vascular bed, excepting the capillaries. Although norepinephrine (NE) is the principal neurotransmitter released upon sympathetic nerve stimulation, neuropeptide Y and ATP are cotransmitters in various vascular tissues. In addition, dopamine and epinephrine, as well as acetylcholine, have been shown to be sympathetic neurotransmitters in specific vasculatures. Transmitter NE release is modified by a number of endogenous substances including the transmitter itself. Chronic denervation of the preganglionic fiber induces an increase in NE release per pulse, indicating postganglionic neuronal supersensitivity. So far, three main adrenoceptor types have been shown, α1, α2 and β, each of which is further divided into at least three subtypes, as well as the α1L-adrenoceptor, a phenotype of the cloned α1a-adrenoceptor, in the blood vessel. Thus, the response of vessels with different receptor types to a transmitter varies quantitatively and even qualitatively from one vessel to another. The remarkable diversity in the sympathetic innervation mechanism in the vascular system may play an important role in regional variations in the regulation of blood flow. The sympathetic nerve also exerts long-term trophic action on the blood vessel. In conclusion, the sympathetic nervous system plays an important role not only in the regulation of cardiovascular dynamics but in the maintenance of the vessel structure, as well.
The Japanese Journal of PharmacologyVol. 88 (2002) , No. 1 pp.9-13