title: Nerve stripper-assisted sural nerve harvest.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sural nerve has the favorite length and size for nerve graft interposition. Here two techniques, that is, "stocking seam" and "stair-step" or "stepladder," have been used for harvesting sural nerve. The first technique results in an unsightly scar at the posterior calf, and the latter one takes a long time to perform and exert undue traction to the graft during harvesting. The purpose of this article is to describe our experience in harvesting the sural nerve by a nerve stripper.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nerve stripper was used for harvesting sural nerve in 35 adult patients (in 6 patients, sural harvesting was done bilaterally), 27 men and 8 women. Thirty-one sural nerve harvests were done by closed technique (i.e., harvesting of sural nerve only by two incisions, one in the posterior of the lateral malleolus and the other in popliteal fossa), in 8 others by limited open technique, and in 2 cases, there was early laceration of the sural nerve at the beginning of the study. The contralateral sural nerve was harvested in one patient and medial antebrachial nerve in another by open technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean length of the retrieved sural nerve was 34.5 cm in the closed technique group and 35 cm in the limited open technique group. We detected advancing Tinel's sign in all nerve stripper-assisted sural nerve harvested group members in both the closed and limited open groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sural nerve harvesting by the nerve stripper is a reliable and simple technique, and it is applicable as a routine technique. Applying controlled rotatory movements of the nerve stripper instead of pushing can result in satisfactory harvesting of the sural nerve without early laceration.
authors: Hand and Microsurgery Department, 15 Khordad Hospital, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors: Esmail
authors: E
authors: Hassanpour
authors: Hand and Microsurgery Department, 15 Khordad Hospital, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors: Masoud
authors: M
authors: Yavari
authors: Hand and Microsurgery Department, Emam Reza Hospital, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors: Ali
authors: A
authors: Karbalaeikhani
authors: Hand and Microsurgery Department, 15 Khordad Hospital, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors: Hossein
authors: H
authors: Saremi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016067:Nerve Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D013497:Sural Nerve / Q000637:transplantation*; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult