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, December 4, 2008

excessive intracranial hypertension following sympathectomy

Increase in Kaolin-Induced Intracranial Hypertension after Decentralization of the Superior Cervical Sympathetic Ganglia in Rabbits

In fact, most of the animals in this group died in the course of the experiment, due to the excessive intracranial hypertension which was more than a tenfold increase compared to normal rabbits. It is suggested that the increased VFP following sympathetic denervation is a result of increased cerebral blood volume (vasodilation) together with increased production of cerebrospinal fluid (loss of inhibitory adrenergic nerve activity in the choroid plexuses).

L. Edvinsson, K.C. Nielsen, C. Owman, K.A. West

Departments of Histology and Neurosurgery A, University of Lund, Lund, and Neurosurgical Clinic, University Hospital, Umeå

Address of Corresponding Author

Eur Neurol 1974;11:296-303 (DOI: 10.1159/000114327)

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ArtikelNr=114327&Ausgabe=234447&ProduktNr=223840&filename=114327.pdf