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, March 8, 2009

Cardiac function after sympathectomy

These findings suggest that cardiac muscle cells require thyroxin for normal growth and enzyme development. Also, Sx (Sympathectomy) may impair cardiac functional capacity by altering Ca2+ activity of actomyosin ATPase.
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 236: C30-C34, 1979;
0363-6143/79 $5.00