The comparison of peripheral nerve regeneration after terminolateral neurorrhaphy and autogenous nerve graft:an experimental study

Objective To compare the effect of end to side neurorrhaphy with autogenous nerve graft on peripheral nerve regeneration to provide theoretical foundation for clinical application.Methods 60 adult wister rats were randomly divided into 3 groups.In group A,A 1cm segment of the left peroneal nerve was removed,the defect was repaired with a segment taken from the contralateral peroneal nerve.In GroupB,theleft peroneal nerve was transected,then an 1mm epineural window was created on the neighbouring tibial nerve.The distal end of peroneal nerve was sutured to the windowed tibial nerve by means of end to side attachment.In group C,nerve TLN was performed as in group B except that the tibial perineurium at the suture site was removed(windowing) Histological, morphological and electrophysiological examinations were per formed 8 and 12 weeks after the operation.Results The cross area of myelinated nerve fibres,axon numbers,motor nerve conduction velocity were significantly better in group A than in group B or C(P 0.05).There was no significant difference between B and C.Conclusion The quality of regeneration nerve fibres through autogenous nerve graft to repair nerve defect superior to that through terminolateral neurorrhaphy.