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

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Extreme caution is called for when considering surgical sympathectomy

Surgical sympathectomy is carried out on the basis of poor quality evidence, studies without
control groups, and personal experience. Though it would appear logical (and has been
suggested) that surgical sympathectomy is indicated primarily for patients with confirmed
'sympathetic-dependent pain, other authors take the view that the treatment results are
not correlated to this. Eighteen percent of patients undergoing sympathectomy for
neuropathic pain experience compensatory hyperhidrosis and 25% experience neuropathic
complications.
Extreme caution is called for when considering surgical sympathectomy for pain control in
CRPS-I. The procedure should be conducted in the context of a trial in order to ascertain
the efficacy and potential risks.
Guideline
INITIATIVE:
Netherlands Society of Rehabilitation Specialists
Netherlands Society of Anaesthesiologists

WITH THE SUPPORT OF:
Institute for Healthcare Improvement CBO
www.cbo.nl/Downloads/341/rl_crps_eng_07.pdf