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 reduces fear

Experiments in animals demonstrate that sympathectomy may retard aversive conditioning (DiGiusto and King, 1972), most likely because sympathectomy reduces fear..."
Clinical Neuropsychology (Medicine) by Kenneth M. Heilman and Edward Valenstein (Hardcover - Feb 13, 2003)
page 458