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, April 7, 2008

ETS For blushing?

Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for
treating facial blushing

Omar Ahmed PhD
Centre for Clinical Effectiveness
Monash Medical Centre

21 February 2001

• No systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or clinical trials that evaluated the
effectiveness of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for treating facial
blushing were identified. However, we have identified four case series
related to the request.
• The four case series were not critically appraised because they are prone
to bias and have significant methodological problems. These studies
represent level IV evidence according to the NHMRC criteria and one
should not draw firm conclusions from their findings.

• To date, the benefits or side effects associated with endoscopic thoracic
sympathectomy for treating facial blushing have not been properly
evaluated and reported. (Mia: there has been no evaluation since this report was completed in 2001, and the surgery is being performed without clinical evidence regarding safety and effectiveness! In Australia, it is listed on MBS, nobody is able to explain on the basis of what or which finding has it been included.)

• Further research using a well-designed controlled trial is warranted to
assess the efficacy of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for treating
facial blushing.

As requested by CCE, a disclaimer attached to this quotation:
Please note that this review was done in 2001 and is now 7years old. The findings are unlikely to be consistent with current information and I would hesitate to recommend it as a source of useful information. This review has been archived and is covered by the disclaimer below on the CCE website archive.