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, June 30, 2008

Both responses were abolished by sympathectomy

In control rats, nicotine caused a dose-dependent tachycardiac and pressor response. Both responses were abolished by sympathectomy, whereas the α-blockade left the tachycardiac response unaffected but inhibited the pressor response; the V1 vasopressin receptor blockade had no effect on either the tachycardiac or pressor response. Conclusions: We conclude that in the conscious rat: (1) the pressor response to nicotine mainly depends on peripheral a-adrenergically-mediated vasoconstriction; (2) the vasomotor effect is caused by neural rather than adrenomedullary catecholamine release; (3) the nicotine-induced increase in heart rate (and presumably cardiac output) is per se unable to raise blood pressure, and (4) the nicotine-induced release of vasopressin plays no significant role in the pressor response.
MARANO G. (1) ; RAMIREZ A. (2 3) ; MORI I. (2 3) ; FERRARI A. U. (2 3 4) ;
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1739277
Cardiovascular research ISSN 0008-6363 CODEN CVREAU

1999, vol. 42, no1, pp. 201-205 (18 ref.)