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

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

sympathectomy should only be considered after failure of all other treatments

Local surgery (axillary) and endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (palms and soles) should only be considered after failure of all other treatment options.

A comprehensive approach to the recognition, diagnosis, and severity-based treatment of focal hyperhidrosis : Recommendations of the canadian hyperhidrosis advisory committee
Canada, 2007