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J Brachial Plex Peripher Nerve Inj 2009; 04(01): e136-e142
DOI: 10.1186/1749-7221-4-19
Review
Sinis et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Functional recovery after implantation of artificial nerve grafts in the rat- a systematic review[*]

Nektarios Sinis
1   Clinic for Hand, Plastic, Reconstructive and Burn Surgery, BG Trauma Center, Eberhard-Karls University, Schnarrenbergstrasse 95, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany
,
Armin Kraus
1   Clinic for Hand, Plastic, Reconstructive and Burn Surgery, BG Trauma Center, Eberhard-Karls University, Schnarrenbergstrasse 95, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany
,
Nikolaos Tselis
3   Dept of Radiotherapy, Hospital of Offenbach, Starkenburgring 66, D-63069 Offenbach, Germany
,
Max Haerle
2   Dept of Hand and Plastic Surgery, Orthopaedic Hospital Markgroeningen, Kurt-Lindemann-Weg 10 D-71706 Markgroeningen, Germany
,
Frank Werdin
1   Clinic for Hand, Plastic, Reconstructive and Burn Surgery, BG Trauma Center, Eberhard-Karls University, Schnarrenbergstrasse 95, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany
,
Hans-Eberhard Schaller
1   Clinic for Hand, Plastic, Reconstructive and Burn Surgery, BG Trauma Center, Eberhard-Karls University, Schnarrenbergstrasse 95, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Subject Editor:
Further Information

Publication History

25 April 2009

25 October 2009

Publication Date:
18 September 2014 (online)

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Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to compare functional data of different nerve-gap bridging materials evaluated in rat experiments by means of a systematic review.

Materials and methods A systematic review was conducted, searching MEDLINE, HTS and CENTRAL to identify all trials evaluating functional recovery of artificial nerve conduits in the rat model.

Results There was a trend towards a favourable outcome of conduits coated with Schwann-cells compared to the plain synthetics. Histomorphometry, electrophysiology and muscle-weight correlated poorly with functional outcome.

Conclusion Schwann-cell coated conduits showed promising results concerning functional recovery. Further standardization in outcome reporting is encouraged.

*This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Additional file

 

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