Peripheral Nerve Repair Using Rat Sciatic Nerve

Peripheral nerve repair plays a vital role in replantation alongside the microvascular repair to ensure optimal outcomes. Such repair aims to reestablish continuity and functionality of damaged nerves through various methods, including direct suturing, nerve grafting, nerve conduits, and tissue engineering approaches. The process involves meticulous surgical intervention, often with the use of specialized biomaterials, growth factors, and different cellular and acellular components to create a favorable environment that promotes nerve regeneration and reinnervation. Successful peripheral nerve repair is crucial for restoring normal sensory and motor function, enhancing patient mobility, and improving overall quality of life. This chapter describes step-by-step peripheral nerve repair techniques using the rat sciatic nerve model. Both epineurium and fascicular repair techniques are presented, emphasizing gentle handling of the nerve, tensionless approximation, and alignment of the fascicles using end-to-end neuroanastomosis.