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, November 21, 2015

Our results show that [3H]substance P binding in the intermediolateral cell column is dependent on the integrity of sympathetic postganglionic neurons

Guanethidine-induced destruction of sympathetic postganglionic neurons in neonatal rats leads to transneuronal degeneration of the sympathetic preganglionic neurons. Using this model, we have been able to show a approximately 35% decrease in [3H]substance P ([3H]SP) binding in the intermediolateral cell column--suggesting that sympathetic preganglionic neurons possess substance P receptors. Our results show that [3H]substance P binding in the intermediolateral cell column is dependent on the integrity of sympathetic postganglionic neurons.

Brain Res. 1985 Apr 29;193-6. pii:0006-8993(85)90146-5.
Reduction of [3H]substance P binding in the intermediolateral cell column after sympathectomy. Takano Y,Loewy AD
https://www.gcbi.com.cn/gclib/html/pubmed/detail/2581658

https://archive.is/bfPLv

Substance P is an important element in pain perception. The sensory function of substance P is thought to be related to the transmission of pain information into the central nervous system. Substance P coexists with the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate in primary afferents that respond to painful stimulation.[16] Substance P has been associated with the regulation of mood disorders, anxiety, stress,[17] reinforcement,[18] neurogenesis,[19] respiratory rhythm,[20] neurotoxicity, nausea and emesis,[21] pain, and nociception.[22] Substance P and other sensory neuropeptides can be released from the peripheral terminals of sensory nerve fibers in the skin, muscle, and joints. It is proposed that this release is involved in neurogenic inflammation, which is a local inflammatory response to certain types of infection or injury.[23] The regulatory function of SP also involves the regulation of its high-affinity receptor, NK-1. Substance P receptor antagonists may have important therapeutic applications in the treatment of a variety of stress-related illnesses, in addition to their potential as analgesics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_P

Patients report that they feel less anxious in stressful situations. Stage fright is reduced.


The results are usually immediate and a surprise to the patient who finds him/herself dry and warm for the first time in many years. The procedure is almost always successful. If the patient has reported plantar (foot) hyperhidrosis, in two out of three cases this is resolved by the surgery also. Patients report that they feel less anxious in stressful situations. Stage fright is reduced. The results are usually permanent. 


Snipping the nerve may stop 'flight-or-fight' stress response

What do sweaty palms and abnormal heart rhythms have in common? Both can be initiated by the nervous system during an adrenaline-driven "flight-or-fight" stress reaction, when the body senses danger.

Hyperhidrosis, an abnormal flight-or-fight response of the sympathetic nervous system that causes excessively sweaty palms may also contribute to problems like dangerous irregular rhythms from the lower chambers of the heart, known as ventricular arrhythmias.

UCLA cardiologists have now found that surgery to snip nerves associated with the sympathetic nervous system on both the left and right sides of the chest may be helpful in stopping dangerous, incessant ventricular arrhythmias — known as an "electrical storm" — when other treatment methods have failed. This same type of surgery has been used for years to alleviate hyperhidrosis.

The UCLA team's findings are reported in the Dec. 27–Jan. 3 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study is one of the first to assess the impact of bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation (BCSD), surgery on both sides of the heart, to control arrhythmias. The research builds on previous work at UCLA in which a similar procedure was performed only on the left side. But for some patients to obtain relief, the researchers said, it must be done bilaterally.