• Wei Ding, Junjian Jiang, and Lei Xu.
• Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai Ninth Peoples' Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2020 May 1; 137: e75-e82.

BackgroundDiaphragmatic paralysis after phrenic nerve injury is an infrequent but serious condition. The destruction of respiratory function after unilateral phrenic nerve injury has been the subject of many investigations.MethodsIn this study, we used a rat model of complete paralysis of the unilateral diaphragm to observe changes in pulmonary function.ResultsWe found in young rats with complete paralysis of the unilateral diaphragm, the vital capacity and total lung capacity show compensation after 4 weeks, and contralateral phrenic nerve transfer can enhance pulmonary function. However, in the aged rats, respiratory function parameters do not show compensation until 16 weeks after injury.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that contralateral phrenic nerve end-to-side anastomosis is a promising therapeutic strategy. In general, our results suggest that this surgical method may hold great potential to be a secure, feasible, and effective technique to rescue diaphragmatic function.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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