End-To-Side Neurorraphy To Repair Main Nerve Trunk Of The Upper Limbs

This study was designed to quantitatively observe the reinnervation extent and the influence on donor nerve of repairing the main nerve trunk of fore limbs with the fashion of end-to-side neurorrhaphy Twenty-four rabbits were randomly divided into fresh and delayed repair groups. The right ulnar nerve was cut and sutured to median nerve in which a perineurial window was created in an end-to-side fashion 3 mm above the elbow joint. Nerve conduction velocity (NCV), dry muscle weight (DMW) and histological studies were performed. The recovery rates of NCV were 79% and 87% for ulnar nerve, 89% and 94% for median nerve at 3 and 6 months respectively. The recovery rates of DMW were 81% and 88% at 3 and 6 months. Neurofilament and silver stains showed that there were numerous sprouting axons originating from the median nerve to ulnar nerve. Image analysis showed that the differences between fresh and delayed repairs were not statistically significance. The results indicate that end-to-side neurorrhaphy can induce axonal sprouting from the main nerve trunk of upper limbs in rabbits, leading to useful functional recovery.