title: Enhancement of nerve regeneration and orientation across a gap with a nerve graft within a vein conduit graft: a functional, stereological, and electrophysiological study.
abstract: In this study, the right sciatic nerves of 40 rats were used to determine whether a nerve graft within a vein graft might accelerate and facilitate axonal regeneration, compared with a nerve graft alone. The animals were separated into four groups, as follows: group 1, sham control; group 2 (control), segmental nerve resection and no repair; group 3, segmental nerve resection and nerve grafting; group 4, segmental nerve resection and reconstruction with a nerve graft within a vein conduit graft. For all groups, sciatic functional indices were calculated before the operation and on postoperative days 7 and 90. On postoperative day 90, the sciatic nerves were reexposed and nerve conduction velocities were recorded. The sciatic nerves were harvested from all groups for counting of the myelinated axons with a stereological method. No statistically significant differences with respect to return of gait function, axon count, or nerve conduction were noted between groups 3 and 4 (p > 0.05). However, functional recovery in group 4 on postoperative day 90 was significant, compared with group 2 (p < 0.05); the recovery difference between groups 2 and 3 was not significant (p > 0.05). This study was not able to demonstrate any functional benefits with the use of a nerve graft within a vein graft, compared with standard nerve grafting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey. drmkeskin@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keskin
authors.forename: Hayati
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akbaş
authors.forename: O Ata
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Uysal
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Canan
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ayyldz
authors.forename: Erdal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ağar
authors.forename: Süleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014680:Veins / Q000637:transplantation