title: Nerve tubes for peripheral nerve repair.
abstract: The concept of the nerve tube has been a major topic of research in the field of peripheral nerve regeneration for more than 25 years. The first nerve tubes are currently available for clinical use. This article gives an overview of the experimental and clinical data on nerve tubes for peripheral nerve repair and critically analyzes the data on which the step from laboratory to clinical use is based. In addition, it briefly discusses the different modifications to the common single lumen nerve tubes that may improve the results of generation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Godard C W
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: de Ruiter
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Spinner
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Yaszemski
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Windebank
authors.forename: Martijn J A
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Malessy
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D016067:Nerve Transfer / Q000379:methods; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000601:surgery* / Q000637:transplantation; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D019737:Transplants