The potential for nerve regeneration and recovery of function only exists in the presence of a suitable pathway for nerve growth. In clinical practice, where direct approximation of the ends of the injured nerves is not possible, the nerve graft
is
widely used to bridge the nerve gap but limited for clinical use because of sacrifice of a functioning donor nerve. In such a case, a new trial to bridge the gap with various materials as a conduit has been reported. The vein interpositional
graft
has
been widely accepted, and the similarity between the tubular basement membrane of skeletal muscle and the endoneurial tube also suggests the possibility of autogenous muscle to aid the nerve regeneration.
The experiments here assessed the chronologic influence of the degenerated skeletal muscle graft which was denatured by deep freezing and thawing in hypotonic solution, femoral vein and autogenous nerve graft on axonal growth for 10 mm of sciatic
nerve
gap in rabbits, and to survey whether muscle or vein interposition was able to serve as a nerve conduit clinically.
@ES The results cbtained were as follows ;
@EN 1. Motor and seneory functions were recovered in 65% of autogenous nerve graft group, 45% of degenerated muscle graft group but in only 40% of vein graft group for more than poor in muscle grading at the 12th week of experiment.
2. Nerve conduction velocity was measured by 43.37±15.76m/sec in normal sciatic nerve, but it was decreased by 10.80±4.14m/sec in nerve graft group, 8.17±1.10m/sec in vein graft group and 9.91±2.17m/sec in degenerated muscle graft group.
3. Total numbers of regenerated myelinated axons were 4,224±384 in nerve graft group, 2,304±209 in vein graft group and 2,304±288 in degenerated muscle graft group at the 8th week of experiment, but these were more rapidly increased upto
twice
in
vein and degenerated muscle graft group at the end of experiment.
4. the number of axons are decreased in nerve graft group than normal because of nerve degeneration by blood insufficiency. No neuromas at the nerve endings were formed in vein graft groups suggesting good cuffing effect of grafted vein but the
number
of axons are less than normal. In the degenerated muscle graft group, the axons number are less than normal but much more than vein and autogenous nerve graft group.
Conclusively nerve repair using degenerated skeletal muscle or vein graft could be employed as one of favorable nerve conduit, but as a second choice after the autogenous nerve graft.
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