ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study is to test whether chemically extracted acellular
nerve segments can be used to repair the sciatic nerve gap. Fifteen canines were divided
into acellular nerve allografting group (ANG, six canines), autografting group (AG,
six canines), and fresh nerve allografting group (FNG, three canines). The sciatic
nerves on the right side of the animals were exposed, and 5-cm-long segments of the
nerves were removed from the midthigh level and replaced by the three types of grafts.
At 6 months after grafting, all animals in the ANG and AG had similar patterns of
right posterior limb gait cycle and right ankle movements. Moreover, the animals in
the ANG and AG had similar nerve regeneration, with dense regeneration fibers in the
distal tibial nerves and obvious motor end plates in the target muscle. But in FNG,
the area surrounding the graft was scarred as the result of inflammation, and there
was a brown central area where there was little nerve regeneration. All of the above
shows that chemical acellular nerve allografting can be used to repair a gap as long
as 5 cm in the continuity of the sciatic nerve in canines and has similar effects
to autografting.
KEYWORDS
Sciatic nerve - acellular nerve allograft - nerve regeneration - recovery of motor
function
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