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

Thursday, July 3, 2008

sympathectomy impairs bone resorption

the sympathetic nervous system is not involved in osteoclast precursor recruitment; but has a significant effect on resorption by inhibiting preosteoclast differentiation and disturbing osteoclast activation. These data suggest that depletion of sympathetic mediators may disturb osteogenic cell-mediated osteoclast differentiation.
M Cherruau1, P Facchinetti2, B Baroukh1, J.L Saffar1Corresponding Author Information

Received 2 November 1998; received in revised form 14 May 1999; accepted 9 July 1999.

http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/bon/article/PIIS8756328299002112/abstract