Eye (Lond). 1990;4 ( Pt 1):181-9.
PMID: 2323469 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
"Sympathectomy is a technique about which we have limited knowledge, applied to disorders about which we have little understanding." Associate Professor Robert Boas, Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australasian College of Anaesthetists and the Royal College of Anaesthetists, The Journal of Pain, Vol 1, No 4 (Winter), 2000: pp 258-260
Monday, March 15, 2010
The effect of cervical sympathectomy on retinal vessel responses to systemic autonomic stimulation
The retinal vessel calibre responses to systemic sympathetic stimulation, were studied in nine patients (eight male; mean age: 31.7 years; range: 19-58 years) with unilateral disruption of their cervical sympathetic tract. All patients had ipsilateral decreased/absent facial sweating and a Horners syndrome, evidence of unilateral sympathetic denervation. Both eyes of each patient were studied and the results were analysed in two groups: the group of nine sympathectomised eyes and the control group of unaffected fellow eyes. During handgrip contraction there was a significant difference in the mean retinal arteriolar constriction (mean +/- SEM) between the group of sympathectomised eyes (4.6 +/- 0.89%) and control eyes (7.1 +/- 1.13%), p less than 0.01. Similarly, there was a significant difference in mean venule constriction during sustained handgrip contraction between the group of sympathectomised eyes (1.5 +/- 0.67%) and control eyes (4.9 +/- 0.98%), p less than 0.05.