[Morphometric rationale for utilization of peripheral nerves of the human fetus as vascularized allografts]. / Morfometricheskoe obosnovanie ispolzovaniia perifericheskikh nervov chelovecheskogo ploda v kachestve vaskuliarizirovannykh allobrefotransplantov.

The authors performed morphometric section studies of the peripheral nerves of 25 human fetuses of 17-26 week development. The purpose of the study was determination of the technical possibility of using revascularized nerves of the human fetus as grafts for replacement of post-traumatic defects in the peripheral nerves. The peripheral nerves of the upper limbs of fetuses of the indicated developmental periods were found to be formed morphologically. The results of morphometric study showed that it is technically possible to obtain the median, ulnar, and radial nerves on a vascular pedicle. The length and diameter of the vessels of the vascular pedicle of the upper limb peripheral nerves allow revascularization of the brephograft to be accomplished by means of microsurgical techniques.

[The microsurgical transplantation of vascularized bone from a human fetus to man]. / Mikrokhirurgicheskaia peresadka vaskuliarizirovannoi kosti ot chelovecheskogo ploda cheloveku.

On the basis of the possibilities of microsurgical techniques and the results of some experiments conducted for the purpose of studying the "microsurgical" morphometry of various areas of the body of a fetus, determining the viability of fetal tissues in cold and thermal anoxia, working out microsurgical methods and the operative techniques, and solving organizational problems, three operation were carried out in the clinic for transplantation of vascularized fetal humerus (in one case together with the ulna and radius) to three patients with defects in the bone skeleton of the hand. Immunosuppression was not undertaken. Control over the viability of the brephotransplant was conducted by ultrasonic dopplerography on a vascular pedicle, radioisotope scintigraphy, roentgenography, and histological study in aspiration biopsy. The brephotransplant was removed in one case due to suppuration 4 months after the operation. In the other two cases with a follow-up period of over 6 months the brephotransplants are viable.