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, March 29, 2009

sympathectomy severs both vasomotor and sensory fibres

Lumbar sympathectomy severs both vasomotor and sensory fibres, suggesting that relief of rest pain may be explained not only by increased cutaneous and muscle blood flow, but also by nociceptive sensory denervation.

Brendon J. Coventry* and John A. Walsh
*Department of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Royal Adelaide Hospital and VascularSurgery Unit, Department of Surgery, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

ANZ Journal of Surgery

Volume 73 Issue 1-2, Pages 14 - 18

Published Online: 5 Feb 2003

Journal compilation © 2009 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons