Simultaneous determination of temperatures of skin and muscle before and after lumbar sympathectomy

A group of 26 patients who had peripheral occlusive arterial disease of the lower extremity were studied before and after chemical or surgical unilateral lumbar sympathectomy. The temperatures of the gastrocnemius muscle and of the skin of the sural area were determined simultaneously preoperatively and postoperatively. Only patients who had undergone successful unilateral lumbar sympathetic denervation based on the postoperative area of anhidrosis were included. The data were obtained under basal conditions among the 26 patients, and the persons studied were divided into two groups. Group 1 was composed of 17 patients (65 per cent) who had a definite parallel increase of 1.2 C. in the temperature of the gastrocnemius muscle and the skin after unilateral sympathectomy. In group 2 (nine patients or 35 per cent) the temperature of the gastrocnemius muscle and the skin of the sural area was unchanged after unilateral sympathectomy. Since none of these patients were suitable for surgical bypass arterial-grafting procedures and all were in the older age group, not too much could be expected from the standpoint of an increase in temperature. However, when the temperature of the skin after operation increased, the temperature of the gastrocnemius muscle also increased.