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

Friday, June 26, 2009

Denervated heart does not respons as effectively as it should

Somatic effectors are dependent on their innervation to maintain structural and functional integrity. When denervated, they eventually atrophy. This is the fate of denervated voluntary muscles as noted in a lower motor neuron paralysis.
Denervated involuntary muscles, cardiac muscle, and glands continue to function. For example, the transplanted heart may function reasonably well. However, when deprived of autonomic nervous system influences, these effectors are abnormal in that they do not respond as effectively as they should to satisfy the changind demands of the organism.

The Human Nervous System

Structure and Function
Noback, C.R.; Ruggiero, D.A.; Demarest, R.J.; Strominger, N.L. (Eds.)
2007, 416 p. 178 illus., Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-58829-040-3

Mia: Please note, that with heart transplants both, sympathetic and parasympathetic influences are disrupted , so while there is denervation, there is no obvious imbalance between these. In sympathectomy, only the sympathetic nerves are cut, and the parasympathetic influence is predominant, whic will result in slowing of the heart.