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, January 15, 2009

The incidence of postsympathectomy compensatory hyperhidrosis

The incidence of postsympathectomy compensatory hyperhidrosis (PCH) varies with patient's geographic location, working environment, humidity, temperature, and the season when it is surveyed, so that the reported incidence varies greatly from 30 to 85% .

Ming-Chien Kao, MD, DM, Sca

a Division of Neurosurgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7 Chung-Shan S. Rd, Taipei, Taiwan