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

Thursday, January 17, 2008

epidural catheter - three years after a sympathectomy

epidural abscess in a patient with dorsal hyperhidrosis .

PURPOSE: To report the management of a patient who developed a lumbar epidural abscess when an epidural catheter was placed three years after a thoracic sympathectomy. The possible contribution of hyperhidrosis is discussed. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 62-yr-old male had compensatory hyperhidrosis in his back after thoracic sympathectomy. The patient, who suffered from thromboangeitis obliterans, underwent lumbar (L2-3) epidural catheterization in order to improve arterial circulation and ameliorate resting pain in his left leg. On the third day after catheterization, the patient complained of a dull pain in his back. Emergency magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 12-mm abscess in the epidural space. On the tenth day after catheterization, laminotomy at the 3-4 lumbar vertebrae and local drainage were performed. A 14-mm abscess was removed from the epidural space. The patient was discharged on day 21 after catheterization without any disability. CONCLUSION: Special precautions against infection may be necessary in patients with hyperhidrosis in the area where continuous epidural catheterization is attempted