Overcoming peripheral nerve gap defects using an intact nerve bridge in a rabbit model

This study investigated the intact nerve bridge technique for overcoming peripheral nerve gap defects in a rabbit model. To create the intact nerve bridge, a 1-cm segment of the peroneal nerve is resected leaving a gap defect. The proximal and distal peroneal nerve stumps are sutured 1 cm apart, in an end-to-side fashion, to the intact tibial nerve epineurium. Four experimental groups were used (n = 10): primary repair of resected segment; intact nerve bridge; nerve autograft; and gap in situ control. Evaluation after 12 weeks included measurement of isometric muscle contraction force, axonal counting, wet muscle weights, and histologic examination. The results of this study support two main conclusions, in a rabbit model: (a) regenerating axons can use the epineurium of an intact nerve to bridge a gap defect; (b) there is no significant difference in the functional recovery between standard nerve autografts and the intact nerve bridge technique.