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

Monday, May 28, 2012

Post-sympathectomy neuralgia is a severe complication since pain can be permanent, severe, and incapacitating

http://www.springerlink.com/content/q04711t06j164206/

Possible surgical complications of sympathectomy may include

  • Horner's syndrome
  • Infection
  • Hematoma
  • Bleeding
  • Postsympathectomy neuralgia
  • Pleurotomy
  • Pleural effusion
  • Phrenic nerve injury
  • Subclavian artery injury
  • Adverse reaction to anesthesia
  • Collapsed lung 
http://www.malonie.com/surgeries/upper-extremity-sympathectomy.htm

"ETS has proved moderately successful in treating hyperhidrosis, although the operation does carry a high risk of complications. "

Other complications of ETS include:
  • sweating on the face and neck after eating food (gustatory sweating),
  • inflammation of the nose (rhinitis), and
  • air becoming trapped between the layers of the lung (pneumothorax) which can cause chest pain and breathing difficulties (although this usually resolves itself without the need for treatment).
Rarer complications of ETS include:
  • Horner's syndrome, a condition that causes drooping of the eyelids, and
  • damage to the phrenic nerve (a nerve that is used to help in breathing).
Phrenic nerve damage can lead to shortness of breath, though it may be possible to repair the nerve during surgery.

http://www.knowsley.nhs.uk/health-a-to-z/h/hyperhidrosis-excessive-sweating/

Ovarian sympathectomy as treatment for pain

Lateral pelvic structures receive their innervation mostly via nerve fibres traversing the infundibulopelvic ligaments. Thus, for lateral pelvic pain, ovarian sympathectomy could theoretically alleviate the pain. However it is rarely performed because of the high risk of vascular complication and its squeal on ovarian functions.

The Internet Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics ISSN: 1528-8439

Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Frustrating Scenario
http://www.ispub.com/journal/the-internet-journal-of-gynecology-and-obstetrics/volume-10-number-1/chronic-pelvic-pain-a-frustrating-scenario.html
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