PERIPHERAL-NERVE ELONGATION WITH TISSUE EXPANSION TECHNIQUES

Elongation of peripheral nerves would facilitate the repair of periphe ral nerve injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine the eff icacy of nerve expansion and the effect of different levels of intralu minal expander pressure upon nerve conduction. A 2-mL Silastic expande r was placed under one sciatic nerve of adult male rats. The other ner ve served as a control. Electroneuromyography (ENMG) was done at the t ime of initial expansion in seven animals. At 40 mm Hg expansion press ure a significant change in latency was found with an increase of 17% +/- 5%. Expansion was carried out for 14 days in two groups of seven r ats, group I at 20 mm Hg and group II at 40 mm Hg. Length gain on the expanded side was 30% in group I and 40% in group II. No significant c hanges in latency or velocity were found after expansion. We conclude that nerves can be expanded at low pressures with no significant condu ction changes but long-term recovery of histologic changes needs to be evaluated.