Repair of sacral plexus root avulsion with normal sacral nerve root transposition in rats / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the efficiency of normal sacral nerve root transposition in repair of the sacral plexus root avulsion. Methods A total of 30 adult SD rats were chosen and divided into three groups,ie,group A(the sciatic nerve received no repair),group B(the autologous sacral plexus root nerve was bridged with the right L6 nerve root by the translocation of the left L6)and group C (the right L5 nerve root nerve was bridged by the translocation of the left L6),10 rats per group.The left side of the rats was used as the control side and the right one as the experimental side.Twelve weeks after operation,the rats in each group were selected for the histomorphological observation of the nerves under the microscope and the electron microscope.The models were evaluated by observing the survival rates of the rats,BBB scores,electron microscope weight and muscle fiber CSA(cross section area)of double biceps femoris,triceps surae and tibial muscle. Results Twelve weeks after operation,the BBB scores in groups B and C was higher than that in group A,with statistical difference(P<0.01)between three groups.A remarkable improvement was found in the ratio of weight and muscle fiber CSA of double biceps femoris,triceps surse and tibial muscle.The repair efficiency in the group C was better than that in the group B.In the group B,the biceps femoris,triceps surae and tibial muscle recovered at different degrees.The biceps femoris recovered the best,when a great deal of myelinated nerve fiber regeneration was observed under the microscope and the electromicroscope.Electromyography revealed the volatility in the muscles of three groups,with larger peak value for the proximal biceps femoris and the triceps muscle but smaller peak value for the distal anterior tibial muscle. Conclusions L6 transposition combined with auto-graft of nerve root or without the auto-graft can reconstruct the partial function of the sciatic nerve in the paraplegia rats,when the latter has the better effect.