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, August 31, 2008

Summary from the University of Cambridge

ANDBN, MAGNUSSON and ROSENGREN (1965)
have demonstrated a complete loss of DOPA decarboxylase activity of iris, spleen
and submaxillary gland after surgical sympathectomy, and a complete loss of tyrosine
hydroxylase activity of heart, submaxillary gland and kidney has been found after
surgical sympathectomy (POOL, COVELL, LEVITT, GIBB and BRAUNWALD, 1967;
SEDVALL and KOPIN, 1967; NAGATSU, RUST and DE QUATTRO, 1969). Although the
time course of the fall in DOPA decarboxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase activities
of operated vasa was not investigated, a preliminary experiment showed that all
DOPA decarboxylase activity was absent one day after denervation. Thus, it seems
likely that these two enzymes which are involved in the biosynthesis of NA have
a cellular localization within the sympathetic nerves of the vas deferens.
NORADRENALINE METABOLIZING ENZYMES IN
NORMAL AND SYMPATHETICALLY DENERVATED
VAS DEFERENS
B. JARROTTI and L. L. IVERSEN
Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
(Received 5 May 1970. Accepted 21 May 1970)