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

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Structural changes of arteries after sympathectomy

The findings indicate that in renal hypertensive rats structural changes of both large arteries and veins may develop in the absence of an intact sympathoadrenergic system.

Effect of sympathectomy on arterial and venous changes in renal hypertensive rats

G. Simon
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 241: H449-H454, 1981;