Mortality: You can appreciate that this is a major procedure from its extensive surgical intervention. The mortality of this procedure within the first 30 postoperative days is 3-5% and the associated morbidity is 13%. The usual pulmonary and infectious complications account for this major morbidity. In the usual case, nerves C8 through T3 must be sacrificed along with the stellate ganglion and upper fibers of the sympathetic chain. This produces numbness along the ulnar distribution of the hand and undersurface of the arm to the elbow and loss of fine motions of the hand leading to the loss of manual dexterity, such as writing, needle work, etc.