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

Sunday, June 22, 2008

sympathectomy may impair heat loss and result in hyperthermia.

The problems becomes worse in persons with disroders that impair sweating, such as hypohidriotic extodermal dysplasia, who may develop hyperthermia after even moderate exercise. Even if the sweat glands are intact, dysfunction of the neurologic pathways that control sweating (including anticholinergic agents and sympathectomy) may impair heat loss and result in hyperthermia.
Pediatric Diagnostic Examination
Donald Greydanus, Arthur N Feinberg, Dilip R Patel, Douglas N Homnick
page: 49