Femoral nerve repair using an H-type nerve regeneration chamber in rats

Peripheral nerve injury in surgical trauma patients is very common. The femoral nerve can be divided into two branches: one regarding the quadricep muscles, and one the skin. After nerve transection and suture, the motor axons have an equal opportunity to regenerate into the original muscle branch, or regenerate into the sensory skin nerves. These anatomical features of femoral nerve have made it important in nerve regeneration research. Thus, this study was designed to examine the effects of an H-type nerve regeneration chamber on motor nerve regeneration after femoral nerve injury. We performed femoral nerve injuries in adult rats and assessed nerve recovery over a 4-week post-operative period. Additionally, we evaluated nerve regeneration in the same animals anatomically, using several histological staining methods to provide structure analyses. We found that H-type nerve regeneration chamber provided enhanced improvement in nerve regeneration without nerve anastomosis, as compared with nerve anastomosis. Furthermore, incorrect nerve anastomosis reduced the nerve fiber diameter and thickness of myelin sheaths in regenerated nerve fibers. Finally, H-type nerve regeneration chamber provided enhanced functional recovery of nerve fibers, particularly for motor nerves. Together, our results suggest that direct nerve suture cannot effectively improve the functional recovery of damaged nerves, and nerve chemotaxis coupled with nerve regeneration chamber can effectively improve the effects of nerve regeneration, and enhance the prognosis of nerve injury repair.