ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe clinical outcomes of the repair of traumatic nerve defects in the proximal upper extremities by human acellular nerve allograft(hANG).Methods:Nerve defects in the upper extremities in 8 patients were repaired by hANG from March 2017 to January 2019. The patients were 6 males and 2 females with mean age of 35.4 (21-53) years old. The nerve defects were 2 radial nerve in distal upper arm, 4 median nerve in forearm, 1 interosseous dorsal nerve and 1 ulnar nerve in forearm. All injuries were acute nerve injury. Two patients had combined injury of upper arm muscle, 4 of forearm muscle and 1 of brachial artery defect. All wound were moderate to severe contaminated. The length of nerve defects was 30-60 (mean 45) mm. The surgical procedures were fixation of fracture, repair of the muscle and discovery of the broken ends of nerve and to repair with hANG. The postoperative follow-up period ranged 18 to 40 (mean 30.6) months to observe the local response of recovery. The efficacy was evaluated by the Upper Extremity Function Evaluation Standard set up by Hand Surgery Branch of Chinese Medical Association and Grading Standard of Muscle Strength.Results:No graft rejection was observed in all cases. Primarily healing was in 5 patients. Delayed healing in 2 patients and free skin grafting was performed. Local flap transfer was performed to repair the wound in 1 patient who developed a skin necrosis 10 days after surgery. Two patients with median nerve defects had nerve function restored well. The strength of finger grip and thumb opposition muscle restored to grade IV and the sensory function had restored S 3+. The interosseous dorsal nerve in 1 patient restored well. The strength of extensor digitorum tendon had restored to grade IV. Based on the evaluation criteria for the upper extremity issued by the Hand Surgery of the Chinese Medical Association, 3 patients was rated in excellent for function recovery, 1 in fair and 4 in poor. Conclusion:After throughout debridement, hANG can be applied in the repair of traumatic nerve defect in the proximal upper extremity in an emergency surgery and it can partially restore the nerve function.
ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the safety and clinical effect of the human acellular nerve allograft (hANG) for repairing peripheral nerve defects.Methods During November,2009 to October,2010,6 patients with 3 digital nerve defects and 3 radial nerve defects were repaired with hANG.During postoperation period,safety was evaluated by local wound response and laboratory testing,while the efficacy was evaluated by British Medical Research Council sensory function assessment standards,static 2-point discrimination (2PD) and Semmes-Weinstein monofilament testing.Results Three patients with 6 digital nerve defects received hANG transplant.The length of nerve graft was 20-50 mm(mean 30.8 mm).After followed up for 31-40 months,the excellent rate of 2PD was 66.7％.Two of 3 patients rahabilited as well as the normal.Three patients with radial nerve defects,whose length of nerve graft was 35-60 mm(mean 48.3 mm).The strength of extensor carpiradialis longus muscle had restored Ⅲ in 1 case,and other 2 cases had no restoration.Conclusion hANG is safe and effective for repairing peripheral nerve defects,especially for digital nerve defects.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the results of graft repair of peripheral nerve defects using small intestinal submucosa(SIS) with crude Schwann cells. Methods Thirty-six male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups,with 12 in each group.Firstly,12-mm gaps of sciatic nerve were made in rats and then treated respectively with porcine SIS(group A),SIS compounded with crude Schwann cells(group B) and auto-nerve grafting(group C) in the three groups.The grafts were harvested 16 weeks postoperatively to evaluate the results of nerve regeneration through histological examination, triceps surae weight,computerized imaging analysis,Trueblue retrograde tracing and transmission electron microscopy. Results Nerve regeneration was confirmed to have extended through the gaps according to the results of histological examination,Trueblue retrograde tracing and transmission electron microscopy.Furthermore,in the respect of triceps surae weight,quantity of axis cylinder per area and percentage of neural tissue,the results of group B and group C were superior to those of group A with a significantly statistical difference(P0.05). Conclusion SIS compounded crude Schwann cells was able to achieve the outcome of auto-nerve grafting and was a promising replacement graft.