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

Monday, March 24, 2008

Melatonin

Influence of sympathectomy in humans on the rhythmicity of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin urinary excretion.


An increase in daytime melatonin excretion was observed in the patients responding to the sympathectomy with an abolished 6-sulphatoxymelatonin rhythm. This increase could indicate that the final sympathetic neurons innervating the pineal gland might have a both stimulatory and inhibitory function.
Møller M, Osgaard O, Grønbech-Jensen M.

Inst. Med. Anatomy, University of Copenhagen, Panum Institute, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.

Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2006 Jun 27;252(1-2):40-5. Epub 2006 May 2