"Thoracoscopic cervical sympathectomy is considered a very safe procedure, with very few problems other than the transient pain mentioned above. Nonetheless, you should know that there is a very small risk - not more than 1 chance in 2000 - that you may experience numbness or weakness in the hand from other nerve damage. A droopy eyelid and small pupil can also occur as a result of the procedure affecting the nerve supply to the eyelid (1%). Excessive sweating of the lower body will occur and this is known as compensatory sweating and can be quite marked. A stuffy nose may result and this change can be permanent requiring nasal spray for life. The face will feel dry after thoracoscopic cervical sympathectomy and this may be annoying. Failure to improve your condition or failure to remove the part of the nerve can occur and this is called a therapeutic failure and is therefore also a risk. Risk to life is < 0.01%."
Not being able to sweat and cool of through the head is more than annoying. 40% of the body heat is released through the top of the head. This will be eliminated. The will be no sweating from the head, neck and shoulders.
The the skin's natural cleaning mechanism, sweating will be eliminated. The skin will become dehydrated, clogged up and more prone to acne. Sympathectomy also lowers the denervated skin's immune responses, it will be more prone to infections. Sympathectomy alters the skin's healing process. People undergoing the opearation will have scar tissue after the operation and from future cutaneous trauma.
Sympathetic denervation impairs epidermal healing in cutaneous wounds
LINCOLN R. KIM, BSCaI KEITH WHELPDALE, MSCb; MA TEUSZ ZUROWSKI, MSCb; BRUCE POMERANZ, MD, PhD°, b
