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Assessment of muscle flap sensibility by evoked potentials in the rat
Author(s) -
Siemionow Maria,
Latifoglu Osman,
Demirkan Ferrit,
Siemionow Wlodzimierz,
Lister Graham
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
microsurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.031
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1098-2752
pISSN - 0738-1085
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2752(2000)20:2<85::aid-micr7>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - medicine , sensory system , sensory nerve , motor nerve , sural nerve , anatomy , muscle atrophy , somatosensory system , gastrocnemius muscle , somatosensory evoked potential , surgery , stimulation , atrophy , anesthesia , skeletal muscle , neuroscience , biology , psychiatry
This study investigated whether the sensory‐to‐motor reinervation of the muscle flap provides a better sensory recovery of an overlying skin graft. Fifty‐four animals were studied in three groups of 18 rats each: group I (control): 1 cm of the gastrocnemius muscle motor nerve was excised and no repair was performed; group II (motor‐to‐motor repair): the motor nerve of the gastrocnemius flap was transected and repaired; group III (sensory‐to‐motor repair): the motor nerve of the gastrocnemius muscle and sural nerve were transected and their distal and proximal ends, respectively, were repaired. At follow‐up periods of 6, 12, and 24 weeks, evaluation of hair growth, muscle atrophy, and sensory evoked potentials was performed. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) at 6 weeks in the sensory‐to‐motor repair (group III) revealed a significant ( P < 0.05) increase (104.4% ± 22.9) in the relative response of peak‐to‐peak potentials when compared with group I (46.6% ± 19) and group II (51.8% ± 14.0). Muscle flap stimulation was most prominent at 6 weeks in sensory‐to‐motor reinvervated flaps (group III 133.1% ± 25.4; group I 84.9% ± 20.2). In this study, sensory‐to‐motor nerve repair significantly improved the sensibility of skin flaps at 6 weeks. Denervated flaps presented with 3 months of sensory recovery delay. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 20:85–93 2000