There is no evidence whatsoever that the sympathetic ganglia have any regulatory function on sweating

There is no "signal that tells the body to sweat excessively". The nervous system doesn't work like that. Worse, it implies that there is some separate signal that tells the body to sweat "normally" which, again, is implied to be unaffected by the surgery. It's nonsense and an affront to all that is known about neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.

Of all the lies and distortions, this is the one that pisses me off the most. Not only is it demonstrably false, it is criminally misleading in terms of what it leads the patient to expect. There no evidence whatsoever that the sympathetic ganglia have any regulatory function. Regulation if sympathetic activity occurs in the brain, not the sympathetic ganglia.

Why the hell don't they call it what it is?: sympathetic denervation surgery (which is a fancy name for a particular type of nerve injury). It eliminates excessive sweating by eliminating the ability to sweat at all (anhidrosis) over a large area. It achieves this end in the most brutal way possible: by permanently destroying the neural pathways. Any statement or implication that sympathectomy reduces sweating to normal levels or improves the regulation of sweating in any way is a boldfaced lie.
http://etsandreversals.yuku.com/reply/24358/Re-Lies-from-your-government

So numerous are the possible variations that the outcome of a sympathectomy is unpredictable

The sympathetic pathways to the heart are extremely variable in their topography, and the diversity of arrangements encountered accounts for the morphological contradictions in the literature. So numerous are the possible variations that the outcome of a sympathectomy is unpredictable. Where denervation is incomplete, collateral sprouting and regeneration of nerves could even lead to hyperstimulation via the sympathetic pathways.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aja.1001240203/abstract

After severing the cervical sympathetic trunk, the cells of the cervical sympathetic ganglion undergo transneuronic degeneration

In consequence of right-sided smpathectomy at the level of C₅ it was found that in the sheep the cervical sympathetic trunk contains nerve fibres which proceed from cells situated in the first four segments of the thoracic part of the spinal cord and in the stellate ganglion. These fibres are about 85 per cent of all fibres of the sympathetic trunk. The remaining 15 per cent proceed from nerve cells situated nasally of the anterior cervical ganglion.

The spinal cord. Changes found in the segment Th1 – Th4 in sheep III and IV closely resembled those
seen in the stellate ganglion (Figures 6, 7).

2. After severing the sympathetic trunk, the cells of its origin undergo complete disintegration within
a year.

3. After severing the cervical sympathetic trunk, the cells of the cervical sympathetic ganglion
undergo transneuronic degeneration.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0442.1967.tb00255.x/abstract

sympathectomy created imbalance of autonomic activity and functional changes of the intrathoracic organs

Surgical thoracic sympathectomy such as ESD (endoscopic thoracic sympathectic denervation) or heart transplantation can result in an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic activities and result in functional changes in the intrathoracic organs.
Therefore, the procedures affecting sympathetic nerve functions, such as epidural anesthesia, ESD, and heart transplantation, may cause an imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activities (1, 6, 16, 17). Recently, it has been reported that ESD results in functional changes of the intrathoracic organs.


In conclusion, our study demonstrated that ESD adversely affected lung function early after surgery and the BHR was affected by an imbalance of autonomic activity created by bilateral ESD in patients with primary focal hyperhidrosis.
Journal of Asthma, 46:276–279, 2009
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02770900802660949

important relationship among cognitive performance, HRV, and prefrontal neural function

These findings in total suggest an important relationship among cognitive performance, HRV, and prefrontal neural function that has important implications for both physical and mental health. Future studies are needed to determine exactly which executive functions are associated with individual differences in HRV in a wider range of situations and populations.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19424767

Low HRV is a risk factor for pathophysiology and psychopathology

The intimate connection between the brain and the heart was enunciated by Claude Bernard over 150 years ago. In our neurovisceral integration model we have tried to build on this pioneering work. In the present paper we further elaborate our model. Specifically we review recent neuroanatomical studies that implicate inhibitory GABAergic pathways from the prefrontal cortex to the amygdala and additional inhibitory pathways between the amygdala and the sympathetic and parasympathetic medullary output neurons that modulate heart rate and thus heart rate variability. We propose that the default response to uncertainty is the threat response and may be related to the well known negativity bias. We next review the evidence on the role of vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV) in the regulation of physiological, affective, and cognitive processes. Low HRV is a risk factor for pathophysiology and psychopathology. Finally we review recent work on the genetics of HRV and suggest that low HRV may be an endophenotype for a broad range of dysfunctions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18771686

Fundamentals of psychoneuroimmunology

The long-held concept that the nervous, endocrine and immune systems are separate entities has given way to a new understanding of human biology. Psychoneuroimmunology addresses the realisation that the neural, immune, and endocrine systems are inextricably linked and that the effects of each affect all-the systems work together as a complicated set of triggers and balances, an intertwining of the physiological and emotional states. Beginning with the fundamentals of immune and neuroendocrine function, Fundamentals of Psychoneuroimmunology explores the complexities of behavioural assessment, the basic types of immunity, the importance of immune cell redistribution in the response to challenges such as infection and stress, and the multifaceted roles of nerves, hormones and cytokines.
http://books.google.com/books/about/Fundamentals_of_psychoneuroimmunology.html?id=h0mEge8Oec8C

"Doctors knock controversial sweating treatment; Surgical procedure leaves many people dripping wet on other parts of the body."

(March 2005) The Canadian news magazine "Macleans" reaches nearly 3 million readers every week. In early March, this publication ran a story about the risks of severe compensatory sweating after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) surgery for the treatment of hyperhidrosis. The story's headline read, "Doctor's knock controversial sweating treatment; Surgical procedure leaves many people dripping wet on other parts of the body." (Editor's note: As of July 2007, this article was no longer available free online. You may, however, purchase the March 2005 edition of Macleans by visiting

this link.)
According to the article, the most common problem following ETS is increased and profuse sweating on other parts of the body, most often the back, legs, groin, and abdomen. This compensatory sweating, reports Macleans, can be mild to severe and occurs in 80 to 90 percent of patients. In one study of people who had surgery for excessive underarm sweating, 90 percent of the patients reported compensatory sweating and half of them were forced to change their clothes during the day because of it.

In related news, major news outlets (including "The New York Times") have reported this week on a massive insurance scam in the US in which thousands of patients from 40 states had been transported to California to undergo unnecessary surgical and diagnostic procedures. Insurers and employers have lost US $350 million in claims paid to date due to the illegal operations.

As part of the scheme, patients traveled to outpatient surgery clinics in California to receive three or more procedures in a single week. Among the procedures unnecessarily performed on these patients, according to The New York Times, was "...a highly unusual procedure to treat 'sweaty palms.'" The paper quoted an expert who said this particular surgery "posed potential risks to the patient because it involved collapsing the patient's lungs and deactiviating a nerve near the spine."

In return for undergoing unnecessary colonoscopies, endoscopies, and surgeries for "sweaty palms", participating patients were paid anywhere from $200 to $2,000 each and may have received discounts on cosmetic surgery.
http://www.sweatsolutions.org/sweatsolutions/Article.asp?ArticleCode=19570137&EditionCode=95129982

ganglion block for unbalanced sympathetic nervous system disorders

Stellate ganglion blocks (SGB) are widely used for pain relief in outpatient clinics due to its many therapeutic indications and easy maneuvering. It is used locally over stellate ganglion territory disorders in the craniocervical (head and neck) or upper limbs and systemically for angina pectoris, psychosomatic disorders, hormonal disorders, or unbalanced sympathetic nervous system disorders [1].
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2872892/

Presentations at the 4th International Symposium on Sympathetic Surgery

http://www.angelfire.com/ab/ets/201.htm#_Hlt521158972

Surgical sympathectomy is the gold standard of treatment for this disease, by which all other treatments must be judged

http://www.fortishospitals.com/heart-care/treatments-and-procedures/vats-sympathetectomy.html

sympathectomy can result in spinal cord infarction

Uncommon causes include decompression sickness, which has a predilection for spinal ischemic damage; complications of abdominal surgery, particularly sympathectomy;...

http://www.neurology-asia.com/Spinal_Cord_Infarction.php

For blood pressure control in certain acute hypotensive states (e.g., pheochromocytomectomy, sympathectomy...

Norepinephrine (Levophed ®) -
For blood pressure control in certain acute hypotensive states (e.g., pheochromocytomectomy, sympathectomy, poliomyelitis, spinal anesthesia, myocardial infarction, septicemia, blood transfusion, and drug reactions).
http://www.globalrph.com/norepinephrine_dilution.htm

Unilateral sympathectomy leads to decreases in ventral prostate weight

http://www.biolreprod.org/content/51/1/99

Sympathectomy decreased NE and DA concentrations of muscles to approximately 10% of control values

We studied the effect of unilateral sympathectomy on rat quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscle concentrations of endogenous dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), dopamine (DA), and norepinephrine (NE) and assessed the relationships between these catecholamines in several rat tissues. Catecholamines were measured by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Sympathectomy decreased NE and DA concentrations of muscles to approximately 10% of control values, whereas the DOPA concentration tended to increase. Relatively high concentrations of DOPA were found in the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and spleen. No correlations were obtained between the tissue concentration of DOPA and NE. A DA-to-NE ratio approximately 1% was observed in liver, muscle, pancreas, spleen, and heart, whereas we found exponentially increasing DA values with increasing NE concentration in tissues obtained from stomach, small and large intestine, kidney, and lung. In conclusion, endogenous DOPA in muscle tissue is not located in sympathetic nerve terminals but probably in muscle cells. DA concentrations in the gastrointestinal tract and in the kidneys were greater than could be ascribed to its role as a precursor in the biosynthesis of NE.
http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/256/2/E284.abstract

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.
After severing the cervical sympathetic trunk, the cells of the cervical sympathetic ganglion undergo transneuronic degeneration.


The spinal cord. Changes found in the segment Th1 – Th4 in sheep III and IV closely resembled those
seen in the stellate ganglion (Figures 6, 7). Changes in sheep I and II were the same as described in the
previous paper (5).
The nervus caroticus internus. In all the sheep a myelinated fasciculus was found in this nerve
(Figure 8), which proves that the nervus caroticus internus contains a fasciculus of fibres which run
from the front to the rear in the anterior sympathetic trunk (5).
www.date.hu/acta-agraria/2002-08i/welento.pdf

painful vasospastic condition in the right arm following surgical sympathectomy on the left side

Spinal dorsal column stimulation has been used in the treatment of a patient with a painful vasospastic condition in the right arm following surgical sympathectomy on the left side. After sympathectomy the left arm became constantly dry and warm and consistently lacked skin vasomotor (laser Doppler flowmetry) responses to arousing stimuli, indicating a complete loss of sympathetic vasomotor innervation.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n823388l26q330m3/