Peripheral nerve reconnection: improvement of long-term functional effects under simulated clinical conditions in the...

Despite increasing precision of the microsurgical management of peripheral nerve injuries, measured by eventual return of function, there has been no clear improvement in the outcome. By taking into consideration a number of chemical and physical factors that could influence the condition of injured nerves, we developed a reconnection technique and have applied that technique under conditions mimicking those of human nerve injury. Within 4 weeks, all rats treated by reconnection had substantial return of motor function as measured by gait. Seventy-four days after surgery, performance of the animals receiving this reconnection treatment was 66% better than that of the animals treated by conventional microsuturing.