Ten cases of neurotmesis of posterior interosseous nerve of the forearm were treated with mierosurgical technique from Aug, 1988 to Oct. 1990, of which, 4 cases by autogenous nerve graft and 6 cases by direct neurosuture. Eight cases have been followed-up from 4 months to 1 year after operation concerning with satisfactory results. Some questions the diagnosis, the points for attention in operation, and the relation of the results and the time when the operation done were discussed. The comparison of the results and the recovery time between the autogenous-nerve graft and direct neurosuture was made.
A 0.6cm segment of right common peroneal nerve was resected in 60 SpragueDawley rats. The nerve defects were bridged by adhering the epineurium with autogenous nerve, vein, skeletal muscle, tendon and silastic tube. According to the kinds of the grafts used, the rats were divided into 5 groups. In 6 and 12 weeks after operation, the effect was assessed by motor nerve conduction velocity, weight of the anterior tibial muscle, number of distal axons and histological examination. It was demonstrated that the result from autogenous nerve graft was superior to other grafts in all aspects and that of the vein graft was better thanthe other three. The characteristics of the nerve regeneration and the process of maturation in different types of the grafts were discussed. The related microenvironment which caused the difference was also discussed.
