The long-term functional recovery of repair of sciatic nerve transection with biogenic conduits.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term regenerative capacity over a 15-mm nerve gap of an autologous nerve conduit, the biogenic conduit (BC), 16 weeks after sciatic nerve transection in the rat.

METHODS

A 19-mm long polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube was implanted parallely to the sciatic nerve. After implantation, a connective tissue cover developed around the PVC-tube, the so-called BC. After removal of the PVC-tube the BCs filled with fibrin (n = 8) were compared to autologous nerve grafts (n = 8). Sciatic functional index (SFI) was evaluated every 4 weeks, histological evaluation was performed at 16 weeks postimplantation. Regenerating axons were visualized by retrograde labelling.

RESULTS

SFI revealed no significant differences. Nerve area and axon number in the BC group were significantly lower than in the autologous nerve group (P < 0.05; P < 0.01). Analysis of myelin formation showed no significant difference in both groups. Analysis of N-ratio revealed lower values in the BC group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study reveals the suitability of BC for nerve gap bridging over a period of 16 weeks with functional recovery to comparable extent as the autologous nerve graft despite impaired histomorphometric parameters.