Abstract
Background: In peripheral nerve injury, end-to-side neu-rorrhaphy involves cooptation of the distal stump of a transect-ed nerve to the trunk of an adjacent donor nerve. It has been proposed as an alternative technique when the proximal stump of an injured nerve is unavailable or the nerve gap is too long to be bridged by a nerve graft. End-to-side neurorrhaphy was first documented in the 19th century [1]. However; the tech-nique has not been a clinical routine for almost a century. In early 1990s, Viterbo et al., [2] demonstrated successful nerve regeneration and muscle re-innervation in a rat end-to-side neurorrhaphy model.
Aim of Study: A prospective experimental study was done to study, evaluate, and compere the histological results of neurorrhaphy in rats using end-to-end, end-to-side and end-to-side long contact neurorrhaphy. Thereby presenting a different techniques and for the first time a comparative analytic study for the end-to-side long contact neurorrhaphy.
Material and Methods: The experiment carried out on 74 male rats, divided into three groups. After two months all rats were evaluated histologically with immunohistochemistry staining.
Results: The repaired grafts from the three groups were obtained from the animals for histological examination.
Conclusion: End-to-side neurorraphy presently does not replace a sound primary nerve suture. It should be seen as an excellent, viable option when planning to address difficult peripheral nerve injuries.