Study of nerve regeneration after transfer of acellular allografting nerve by chemical extraction at canines

Objective To observe the short term nerve regeneration in the canines after allografting of nerve made acellular through chemical extraction.Methods 15 canines were divided into experimental group (6 cases), control group I(autografting group , 6 cases ) and control group II (fresh nerve allografting group , 3 cases). The model of defects of sciatic nerves (5.0 cm in length) was set up. The defect was bridged by the above 3 nerve grafts respectively. The histological observation for the nerve regeneration was done at postoperative 6 month.Results There was a mass of regenerating nerve, vessel and Schwann cells in the grafting nerve. A multitude of myelinated nerve fiber occurred at the tibial nerve at the distal part. The number, structure and distribution of the end plate of targeted muscle were close to normal. Conclusions Chemical acellular nerve allografting would not be repulsed and absorpted by the recipient nerve when repair of large caliber and long nerve defects was done. There was no marked difference of nerve regeneration when compared with transfer of autografting nerve.