• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 2001

Recovery of nerve injury is conditioned by various factors including physical state, injured site, cause of injury, and neurorrhaphy Many researchers have reported on regeneration of nerve using end to side neurorrhaphy. The purpose of this study was to examine regeneration of nerve in various conditioned side to side neurorrhaphy. Total of 25 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 220 to 250 gm were divided into five groups of five rats each. The group 1, sham group, composed of dissection only without nerve transaction. The group 2, control group, composed of nerve division only without neurorrhaphy or sural nerve graft. The group 3 composed of one segmental sural nerve graft between the tibial and peroneal nerve after division. Group 4 had two segment graft, and the group 5 with three segment graft, each segment being 6mm long and 5 mm apart. The side to side neurorrhaphy was performed between peroneal nerve and tibial nerve using segmental sural nerve graft in rats. We exposed the sciatic nerve, tibial nerve, peroneal nerve, and sural nerve on left side with prone position. The peroneal nerve was cut on the bifurcation site from tibial nerve and the side to side epineurial neurorrhaphy was performed between peroneal nerve and tibial nerve through 6 mm sural nerve segment graft with 11-0 nylon under operating microscope. The electromyography and the weight from ipsilateral tibialis anterior muscle was performed at one month after neurorrhaphy Peroneal and tibial nerve was examined at distal and proximal to the neurorrhaphy site by methylene blue stain under light microscope for histologic appearance. The number of nerve fibers were counted using the image analyzer. Statistically, both in electromyography and number of nerve fibers, the differences in values between the groups were significant.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.148-154
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• 2012

Peripheral nerve injuries in the oral and maxillofacial regions require nerve repairs for the recovery of sensory and/or motor functions. Primary indications for the peripheral nerve grafts are injuries or continuity defects due to trauma, pathologic conditions, ablation surgery, or other diseases, that cannot regain normal functions without surgical interventions, including microneurosurgery. For the autogenous nerve graft, sural nerve and greater auricular nerve are the most common donor nerves in the oral and maxillofacial regions. The sural nerve has been widely used for this purpose, due to the ease of harvest, available nerve graft up to 30 to 40 cm in length, high fascicular density, a width of 1.5 to 3.0 mm, which is similar to that of the trigeminal nerve, and minimal branching and donor sity morbidity. Many different surgical techniques have been designed for the sural nerve harvesting, such as a single longitudinal incision, multiple stair-step incisions, use of nerve extractor or tendon stripper, and endoscopic approach. For a better understanding of the sural nerve graft and in avoiding of uneventful complications during these procedures as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, the related surgical anatomies with their harvesting tips are summarized in this review article.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.40
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• pp.22.1-22.4
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• 2018

Background: Cross-facial nerve graft is considered the treatment of choice for facial reanimation in patients with unilateral facial palsy caused by central facial nerve damage. In most cases, a traditional parotidectomy skin incision is used to locate the buccal and zygomatic branches of the facial nerve. Methods: In this study, cross-facial nerve graft with the sural nerve was planned for three patients with facial palsy through an intraoral approach. Results: An incision was made on the buccal cheek mucosa, and the dissection was performed to locate the buccal branch of the facial nerve. The parotid papillae and parotid duct were used as anatomic landmarks to locate the buccal branch. Conclusions: The intraoral approach is more advantageous than the conventional extraoral approach because of clear anatomic marker (parotid papilla), invisible postoperative scar, reduced tissue damage from dissection, and reduced operating time.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.421-426
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• 2011

Purpose: Although the sural nerve is the most commonly used donor for autologous nerve graft, its morbidity after harvesting is sparsely investigated. The sural nerve being a sensory nerve, complications such as sensory changes in its area and neuroma can be expected. This study was designed to evaluate the donor site morbidity after sural nerve harvesting. Methods: Among the 13 cases, who underwent sural nerve harvesting between January 2004 and August 2009, 11 patients with proper follow up were included in the study. The collected data included harvested graft length, actual length of the grafted nerve, anesthetic and paresthetic area, presence of Tinel sign and symptomatic neuroma, and scar quality. Results: In 7 patients, no anesthetic area could be detected. Of the patients with a follow up period of more than 2 years, all the patients showed no anesthetic area except two cases who had a very small area of sensory deficit ($225mm^2$) on the lateral heel area, and large deficit ($4,500mm^2$) on the lateral foot aspect. The patients with a short follow up period (1~2 m) demonstrated a large anesthetic skin area ($6.760mm^2$, $12,500mm^2$). Only one patient had a Tinel sign. This patient also showed a subcutaneous neuroma, which was visible, but did not complain of discomfort during daily activities. One patient had a hypertrophic scar in the retromalleolar area, whereas the two other scars on the calf were invisible. Conclusion: After a period of 2 years the size of anesthetic skin in the lateral retromalleolar area is nearly zero. It is hypothesized that the size of sensory skin deficit may be large immediately after the operation. This area decreases over time so that after 2 years the patient does not feel any discomfort from nerve harvesting.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.138-143
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• 2005

In the high radial nerve palsy caused by displaced humeral shaft fracture, radial nerve have to be explored in the fracture site. 5 cases of the ruptured radial nerve at the fracture site of the humerus from January 1993 through January 2005 were treated at first by open reduction and internal fixation with plates and screws fixation and then defective radial nerves were grafted with autogenous sural nerves by microsurgical epineurial and or perineurial neurorrhaphy. At average 30.4 months follow-up, 5 cases were recovered from motor and sensory deficit with solid bony union of the humerus shaft fracture. Authors have confirmed that ruptured radial nerve in the humerus shaft fracture grafted with autogenous sural nerve with microsurgical epineurial and or perineurial neurorrhaphy would be expected good motor and sensory recovery.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.42-45
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• 1993

Although various methods had been reported for reanimination of facial nerve palsy, interposition nerve graft remains superior to other methods if there is a wide gap to be bridged. Dott described a excllent facial nerve reconstruction by sural nerve graft bypassing petrous bone. But his method needs two surgical fields and is performed in two stages. Authors desribe a traumatic facial nerve palsy treated by one stage facial nerve reconstruction that is performed in one surgical field by using a great auricular nerve interposition graft and bypass the petous bone.

• Archives of Hand and Microsurgery
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.306-312
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• 2018

The temporal branch of the facial nerve is particularly vulnerable to traumatic injuries due to its anatomic location, which often causes severe aesthetic and functional loss in the patient. Moreover, a chronic injury with nerve defect is more difficult to treat compared to acute injury, because it usually needs an additional procedure such as a nerve graft surgical procedure. This case shows a male patient who had a divided temporal branch of the facial nerve one month after an injury. We successfully grafted the split sural nerve and showed a good aesthetic, functional recovery for the patient.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.93-96
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• 2010

We report a case of 44 years old male patient with neuroma-in-continuity of ulna nerve. In the patient's past history, he had received operative treatment for the open supracondylar fracture of right distal humerus and ulnar nerve injury at 10 years ago, and neurolysis was tried 2 times due to severe neuropathic pain. Despite of these operations, the symptom was not improved. In operative field, we noticed neuroma-in-continuity and decided to resect the neuroma until normal nerve fascicle was noted. The nerve cable graft was done with auto sural nerve on the defect site and the nerve was wrapped with small saphenous vein. At post operative 7 months, pain was markedly decreased and sensory recovery was slightly improved and patient was satisfied with the result.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 1991

Various nerves from many areas of body can be used as a donor of autogenous nerve graft in the microneurosurgical repair of the oral and maxillofacial region. In the grafting procedure of nerve repair, the best results will be achieved with a maximum approximation of fascicular surface at both the porximal and the distal stumps. Therefore, appropriate selection of donor nerve will bring out the best results. The sural nerve has been used as one of the most popular donor nerve in the microneurosurgical repair of the oral and maxillofacial region. The authors examined the fascicular characteristics of the human sural nerve microscopically and compare this results with our previous report of the greater auricular nerve and that of the inferior alveolar nerve.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.187-193
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• 2020

Upper limb nerve damage is a common condition, and evidence suggests that functional recovery may be limited following peripheral nerve repair in cases of delayed reconstruction or reconstruction of long nerve defects. A 26-year-old man presented with traumatic injury from a wide, blunt wound of the right forearm caused by broken glass, with soft tissue loss, complete transection of the radial and ulnar arteries, and a large median nerve gap. The patient underwent debridement and subsequent surgery with a microsurgical free radial fasciocutaneous flap to provide a direct blood supply to the hand; the cephalic vein within the flap was employed as a venous vascularized chamber to wrap the sural nerve graft and to repair the wide gap (14 cm) in the median nerve. During the postoperative period, the patient followed an intensive rehabilitation program and was monitored for functional performance over 5 years of follow-up. Our assessment demonstrated skin tropism and sufficient muscle power to act against strong resistance (M5) in the muscles previously affected by paralysis, as well as a good localization of stimuli in the median nerve region and an imperfect recovery of two-point discrimination (S3+). We propose a novel and efficient procedure to repair >10-cm peripheral nerve gap injuries related to upper limb trauma.