THE USE OF CULTURED SCHWANN-CELLS IN NERVE REPAIR IN A RABBIT HINDLIMB MODEL

A 3-cm peripheral nerve gap in a rabbit hind-limb model was repaired b y using a polyglycolic acid (PGA) conduit filled with a gelatin/Schwan n-cell suspension. Postoperative nerve function after 16 weeks, as mea sured by isometric twitch and tetanic muscle strengths, and nerve cond uction velocities, failed to demonstrate a statistically significant d ifference, compared to a control group in which the nerve gap was reco nstructed by using a PGA conduit filled with gelatin only. The 3-cm ga p in the described model may not have been long enough to show a signi ficant difference between the two groups. Alternatively, the transferr ed cultured Schwann cells may have been functionally inactive.