For a full story on sympathectomy and consequences, look up nerve injury or denervation

"I think the surgeons may not be aware of the long term consequences of denervation" Ahmet Hoke M.D., Ph.D. FRCPC

Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Director, Neuromuscular Division Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Neurology


Saturday 29 November 2014

"Sympathectomy is a destructive procedure that interrupts the sympathetic nervous system"

Cervico-thoracic or lumbar sympathectomy for neuropathic pain | Cochrane Summaries: "Sympathectomy is a destructive procedure that interrupts the sympathetic nervous system. Chemical sympathectomies use alcohol or phenol injections to destroy sympathetic nervous tissue (the so-called "sympathetic chain" of nerve ganglia). Surgical ablation can be performed by open removal or electrocoagulation (destruction of tissue with high-frequency electrical current) of the sympathetic chain, or by minimally invasive procedures using thermal or laser interruption. Nerve regeneration commonly occurs following both surgical or chemical ablation, but may take longer with surgical ablation.

This systematic review found only one small study (20 participants) of good methodological quality, which reported no significant difference between surgical and chemical sympathectomy for relieving neuropathic pain. Potentially serious complications of sympathectomy are well documented in the literature, and one (neuralgia) occurred in this study.

The practice of sympathectomy for treating neuropathic pain is based on very weak evidence. Furthermore, complications of the procedure may be significant."



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