Muscle graft as a substitute for peripheral nerve graft in rats.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the applicability of the use of autogenous muscle treated in various ways, as a substitute of the nerve grafts.


METHODS
Rats were divided into seven groups that received, as a treatment for a standard nerve injury, the following types of grafts: fresh muscle, muscle fixed with 10% formaldehyde, muscle frozen in a freezer, muscle frozen in refrigerator, nerveless muscle, peripheral nerve and a group was without any treatment. It assessed the histological appearance of the nerve fibers in the segment repaired.


RESULTS
The evaluation of the segment nervous repaired showed nerve fibers through the graft in almost all groups, but the methodology employed has not adequately characterized the differences between the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed the migration of nerves fibers through all grafts used.
Palhares
Aristides
A
Department of Surgery and Orthopedic, Faculty of Medicine, UNESP, Brazil. palhares@fmb.unesp.br
Viterbo
Fausto
F
Cardoso
Ricardo Galesso
RG
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000637:transplantation*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D051381:Rats; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000294:innervation*; D016378:Tissue Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous