Hand surgery : an international journal devoted to hand and upper limb surgery and related research : journal of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Retrograde tracing and electrophysiological findings of collateral sprouting after end-to-side neurorrhaphy.
The aim of this study was to seek more potent evidences of collateral sprouting for both motor and sensory nerve fibres after end-to-side neurorrhaphy using a modified double-labelling retrograde tracing method and to investigate the function of regenerated motor axons with electrophysiological evaluation. Four groups (n=4 for each group) were used: end-to-end coaptation (six months postoperatively), end-to-side coaptation (four months and six months postoperatively) and normal control. Two fluorescent tracers (true blue and diamidino yellow) were applied to the proximal ends of tibial and common peroneal nerves, respectively after four or six months of nerve coaptation. ⋯ Four months after surgery, the motor nerve conduction velocity in end-to-side coaptation was significantly slower than in the normal control. But no difference was found in the sixth month. These results suggest that end-to-side neurorrhaphy can induce the functional collateral sprouting of both motor and sensory axons in the peripheral nerve.