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

Hyperpigmentation after sympathectomy

Clin Exp Dermatol. 1980 Sep;5(3):349-50.
Samuel C, Bird DR, Burton JL.

Disabling Orthostatic Hypotension Caused by Sympathectomies for Hyperhidrosis

Syncope Cases

Published Online: 16 Nov 2007

Editor(s): Roberto Garc�a-Civera, Gonzalo Bar�n-Esquivias, Jean-Jacques Blanc, Michele Brignole, Angel Moya i Mitjans, Ricardo Ruiz-Granell, Wouter Wieling

Print ISBN: 9781405151092 Online ISBN: 9780470995013

Copyright © 2006 by Blackwell Publishing

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/summary/116842153/SUMMARY

A mismatch between intravascular volume and the required cardiac output on standing up is the most common cause of orthostatic hypotension. In a small minority of cases, however, orthostatic hypotension is not caused by volume depletion, but by impairment of the autonomic reflexes required to maintain blood pressure in the upright position. This disorder is known as autonomic failure.

In patients with autonomic failure, orthostatic hypotension is caused by an impaired capacity of sympathetic nerves to increase vascular resistance. Downward pooling of venous blood and a consequent reduction in stroke volume and cardiac output lead to the orthostatic fall in arterial pressure.


Adrenal Insufficiency after sympathectomy

A Study of Adrenal Insufficiency After Treatment of Hypertension by Bilateral Sympathectomy Plus Unilateral Adrenalectomy

Chapter Author: P. Etienne-Martin

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/summary/119228241/SUMMARY

Copyright © 1954 Ciba Foundation

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;

THE PLACE OF SYMPATHECTOMY IN THE TREATMENT OF YOUNG MARRIED WOMEN

PET Imaging of Oxidative Metabolism Abnormalities in Sympathetically Denervated Myocardium

The average percentage of the left ventricle denervated in the group I animals was 13.1% ±7.3%.
Significant reductions in oxidative metabolism were observed in the sympathectomized tissue both at 2 and 8 wk after surgery (22% and 15% reductions, respectively).

Gary D. Hutchins, Timothy Chen, Kathy A. Carlson, Richard L. Fain, Wendy Winkle, Triad Vavrek, Bruce H. Mock
and Douglas P. Zipes
J NucÃ-Med 1999; 40:846-853