Immediate and Delayed Nerve Repair Using Freeze-Thawed Muscle Allografts

Abstract

Six sheep underwent repair of the median nerve in the forearm using freeze-thawed muscle autografts, along with the establishment and repair of a “fracture” adjacent to the site of nerve injury. The “fracture” was created by making a transverse osteotomy of the radius. It was repaired using an 8-hole dynamic compression plate. A further six sheep underwent similar treatment with the repair of the nerve delayed for 30 days after the establishment of the long-bone injury. Six months after the nerve repair, each group of sheep was assessed using electrophysiological and morphometric methods in order to establish objective indices of nerve recovery and regeneration. It was found that delay of the nerve repair and the presence of a complicating long bone injury, both separately and additively, contributed to a poorer outcome in recovery of nerve function and maturation.