Repair of peripheral nerve defects with epineural sheath grafts.

Publication/Presentation Date

12-1-2010

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the potential of using a detubulized flat epineural sheath for bridging nerve gaps as an alternative to nerve autografting. Nerve gaps were created by removing a 1.2-cm segment of sciatic nerves. Later, the epineurium was incised longitudinally, and after fascicle removal, a flat rectangular epineural sheath was created. Five experimental groups (6 rats each) included: autograft and no treatment controls and epineural sheath groups repaired with 1 strip, 2-strip, and full epineural sheath grafts. Assessments performed at 3, 6, and 12 weeks included functional (pinprick, toe-spread), neurosensory (somatosensory-evoked potentials), and histomorphometric evaluations. The functional results of toe-spread, somatosensory-evoked potentials, and histomorphometric data revealed comparable outcomes between autograft, 2-strip, and full sheath grafts, indicating adequate nerve regeneration. Thus, the new epineural sheath graft technique introduced in this study can be considered as an alternative method to standard nerve autografting technique.

Volume

65

Issue

6

First Page

546

Last Page

554

ISSN

1536-3708

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

21042171

Department(s)

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Document Type

Article

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