Has Any One Had A sympathetectomy.
 

I was just wondering if any had this done, if you did what was your outcome thank you fire ( darlene):hug:

I was just reading about this. I am hoping to find out more about it. I am also hoping that someone has had this done, or knows something about it.

Dont Do Sympathetectomy I had it done RSD spread
 

Medical Treatments


American RSDHope
RSD - CRPS - Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy





Medical Treatments--

SYMPATHECTOMY

There are many versions of this procedure, sometimes the nerve is simply cut, or it can be burned or frozen with chemicals, and there are a few other types.

However, Sympathectomies have EXTREMELY LIMITED POSITIVE RESULTS and can have very damaging results.

Once thought to be "the answer" to RSDS pain is now shown, according to a National Survey of RSDS Patients conducted in 1998, to have a very low rate of long-term success and in three out of four patients makes the RSDS spread and/or worsen. The study also showed that there is a 70% failure rate within the first year.

This procedure is irreversible AND THANKFULLY LESS AND LESS DRS ARE PERFORMING THEM!

Many Doctors who once supported them wholeheartedly have now publicly stated they would never recommend this treatment for an RSD patient. :mad:

More info on SYMPATHECTOMY
 

Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) is a surgical procedure where certain portions of the sympathetic nerve trunk are destroyed. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoscopic_thoracic_sympathectomy - 52k - Cached - Similar pages

Sympathectomy
Sympathectomy is a surgical procedure that destroys nerves in the sympathetic nervous system. The procedure is done to increase blood flow and decrease ...
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz...pathectomy.jsp - 51k - Cached - Similar pages

sympathectomy: Definition and Much More from Answers.com
More about Sympathectomy: Purpose Precautions Preparation Aftercare Risks Normal results Resources Sympathectomy Definition Sympathectomy is a.
www.answers.com/topic/sympathectomy - 67k - Cached - Similar pages

Thoracoscopic Sympathectomy
Surgical interruption of intrathoracic autonomic neural pathways has several useful clinical applications, particularly thoracic sympathectomy for upper ...
http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clini...t_tech-17.html - 45k - Cached - Similar pages

American Sympathectomy Institute
A new, minimally invasive procedure to cure hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) is available at the American Sympathectomy Institute at the University of ...
www.sympathectomy.com/ - 32k - Cached - Similar pages

Sympathectomy FAQs
Get answers to frequently asked questions about the sympathectomy procedure for excessive sweating from experts at the University of Maryland Medical ...
www.umm.edu/thoracic/faq_sym.htm - 22k - Cached - Similar pages

Sympathectomy - New York Presbyterian Hospital
Sympathectomy involves cauterizing (cutting and sealing or clipping) a portion ... In an endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy, the surgeon inserts a miniature ...
www.nyp.org/health/sympathectomy.html - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

Sympathectomy Failure
Sympathectomy is analogous to the act of killing the messenger. The sympathetic nervous system has the critical job of properly controlling and preserving ...
www.rsdrx.com/sympathectomy_failure.htm - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

Sympathectomy for neuropathic pain
Mailis-Gagnon A, Furlan A. Sympathectomy for neuropathic pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2003, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD002918.
www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab002918.html - 24k - Cached - Similar pages

sympathectomy - Definition from Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary
Definition of sympathectomy from Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary with examples and pronunciations.
medical.merriam-webster.com/medical/sympathectomy - 26k - Cached - Similar pages

and more-
http://www.google.com/search?q=SYMPA...ient=firefox-a

Is this the same thing as a rasotomy? It sounds close.

rhizotomy
 

tried to Google it but found the spelling was off - rhizotomy

http://www.google.com/search?q=rhizo...ient=firefox-a

Thanks, I used YAhoo it and it came up the other way. I thought it was wrong, but that was what it said.

I have had 3 of those, and if they are close to the same thing I would stay away.

Eek!
 

When I was going throught my initial diagnoses stage, one doctor mentioned this as a possibility. No firm dx,, no name to the procedure, no outline of side effects, just an offhand "well, we could try to cut the nerve..." This just sounded totally wrong to me.

After I discussed this with my PCP, he was shocked and exclaimed "Don't go cutting any nerves! They will never grown back, and it might not do anything." This was in 1986. He did not know what I had, or how to treat it, but he knew that cutting apart nerves sounded very extreme for a 33-year-old man.

I would say - approach with caution. Know everything you can, since this still sounds like a last-resort kind of thing to me.

Good luck :hug:

Mike

:hug: Dear Mike that is why im upset i had thoracic out let sydrome and he took out the first rib, some sclene muscles and a cervical sympathetectomy. And now i have RSD but he new there was a possiblety that i allready had from my other surgery on my shoulder that was 6 months apart. So why did he do that i feel he didnt read my records saying possible rsd. The big jerk im only 44 and he runied my life.

Have had lumbar sympathectomy
 

After being diagnosed with RSD in 1988, yes I said 1988, the mode of treatment included surgical sympathectomies. My result was more intense pain & the procedure being irreversible. If I had another chance, I'd never have it done.
Residing here in Iowa, I have trouble enough just finding doctors willing to prescribe pain meds. If your doctor wants you to have this done, my suggestion would be too run. Good luck to you...............................

Tony T.

Listen to me!!!!
 

Hey all!
If you're ever going to listen to me, listen to me on this one!!! :) My degree is in neuroscience, and this answer is a combo of my education and my doctor's expertise. (I went to UCSD- first rate neuro program, and my doctor/surgeon is at UCSD- first rate doc. I adore him. He also does research on RSD.)

A nerve is like a rope- the various fibers that make up the rope are the individual neurons. A sympathectomy just cuts that nerve. Or uses alcohol to kill it. Sounds great, right? No more nerve, no more pain! Yay! Unfortunately, our nerves are more like trees. They are living things. And what happens when you cut a tree down? The tree trunk doesn't grow back in just one place. It grows back 3, 4, 10, or even 20 new shoots. In terms of nerves, this means even greater connectivity than before, and unfortunately, even greater pain. More signals get through- more pain signals. Where there was only one neuron conducting the pain signal, there are now twenty.

This is why no doctor will perform a sympathectomy these days. They will only result in increased sensitivity and pain. It's pretty much guaranteed.

I truly hope that this explains why this is not a procedure you should undergo. Radiofrequency ablation, on the other hand, is believed to either shock the nerve for a period of time, or leave the myelin sheath intact, which provides a guide for the nerve to grow back into so that it does not over grow and become bushy. This procedure does not leave patients in more pain than they started out in. And on a personal note, before I had my spinal stim put in, I had up to 5 months of relief from RF ablations! 2 months on the low end, but that's still damn good!

If you have more questions, feel free to ask. I'll break it down for you!

Lynn :)

thanks that is a great amount of information. I have Crps in mainly my upper body and want to get rid of mainly alot of the pain but it seems a scarey operation to go through. What does it effect after re-cooping from the surgery?
That has me most scared!
Linda

Hi Tony T and Welcome. So very sorry you the symp. surgery. That is what is so scary about RSD. It can be made worse by so many things. I'm scared to death to go to the dentist. I bet it's difficult to get meds in Iowa. The FDA monitors the Docs so closely, of course, so drugs are not misused. But there are pain clinics and Drs. that know how to manage RSD. My Dr. is a Pyschiatrist, Neurologist, and has a degree in Pharmacology. He manages my pain and other symptons of RSD. To reduce pain, their are other drugs that work effectively on nerve pain. Anti-seizure and anti-depressants. So I take both of these meds and blood pressure, anti-anxiety, sleeping pills, and Vicodin. Because of changing from Neurotin to Lyrica, a newer anti-seizure, I was able to reduce the narcotics. I see my Dr. once a month for first 4 years and now every other month. This disorder turns your world upside down, especially if you were active. I've had it 12 years and now have full-body. Mine came the day after surgery and wasn't diagnosed for correctly for about 7 years. I'd like to encourage you to join this forum, it really is full of caring, educated, compassionate men and women and young adults like Ali. Hope the best for you. I'm personally glad I found this group and have 'held on' because of encouragment of my friends, family, this group of fellow RSD'ers. Hoping the Best for you, Loretta Jewell

It also depends on whether you are talking about a sympathetic block rather than a true surgical or chemical sympathectomy. Often a sympathetic block is referred to by docs as a sympathectomy. Tha sympathetic block is a diagnostic procedure which may have some temporary therapeutic benefits for some people but is nothing like the sort of sympathectomy that the other posters have been describing. It is common to have at least one such block done and if it is done properly and carefully it should cause no harm or CRPS symptoms in the area of the needle.