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

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Unilateral cervical sympathectomy resulted in a moderate and short decrease in milk secretion

the average amount of milk given by operated animals 10 days after operation being 76-3% of the initial level. Total cervical sympathectomy (the 2nd operation was performed 1 month later) caused a much greater and more prolonged decrease in milk secretion, 59.7% of the initial level being secreted during the 10 days after operation. A gradual increase in milk secretion was observed after the operation and this increase was more gradual after total sympathectomy than after partial sympathectomy. Denervation of the thyroid and parathyroids did not decrease milk secretion. Section of the pituitary stalk in 6 goats, which included complete section (2 goats), complete section with scar tissue at the site of section and considerable damage to the median eminence of the tuber einereum (1 goat) and incomplete section (3 goats) was performed. Milk ejection disappeared completely for 7-11 days in the goats with complete section and remained defective for some weeks after, but was still effective in those where the infundibular stem and part of the glandular portion of the pituitary stalk was still intact. Milk secretion was 28.9% of the initial level in the goats with complete section and 12.9% in the goat with the scar tissue whereas it was 40.5 and 55.7% in the incompletely sectioned and control operated goats. (See also D.S.A. 21 [3081].) D.E.E.
Influence of cervical sympathectomy and pituitary stalk section upon milk secretion in goats.

Authors

TVERSKOY, G. B.

Journal

Nature 1960 Vol. 186 No. 4727 pp. 782-84

ISSN

0028-0836

DOI

10.1038/186782a0