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, May 28, 2008

disabilities or inconveniences

The symptoms referable to hypertension were
definitely reduced or eliminated by sympathectomy.
The eyeground findings were also markedly changed
in the direction of normalcy. However, there were
very few electrocardiographic alterations postopera-
tively.
The authors conclude that the extensive sympa-
thectomy performed by them retards and in some
instances arrests the progression of the hypertensive
disease process. However, they emphasize the fact
that this type of operation is associated with certain
disabilities or inconveniences, such as pain, which
may be intense, postural lowering of blood pressure,
producing dizziness and other symptoms, excessive
sweating in areas of regeneration or in areas not de-
nervated, and obstruction of nasal airways caused by
swelling of the mucous membranes.

Grimson, K. S., Orgain, E. S., Anderson, B., Broome,
R. A., Jr., and Longino, F. H.: Results of Treat-
ment of Patients with Hypertension by Total
Thoracic and Partial to Total Lumbar Sympathec-
tomy, Splanchnicectomy and Celiac Ganglionec-
tomy. Ann. Surg. 129: 850 (June), 1949.