Open AccessA vascularized nerve graft substitute generated in a chamber bioreactor- A preliminary report
Author(s) -
Murat Sinan Engịn,
Yener Demirtaş,
Tale Neimetzade,
Bülent Ayas,
İbrahim Alper Aksakal,
Ahmet Karacalar
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
hand and microsurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2458-7834
DOI - 10.5455/handmicrosurg.203541
Subject(s) - medicine , bioreactor , biomedical engineering , botany , biology
Objectives: Treatments of long peripheral nerve defects are limited and a means to construct a vascularized nerve graft substitute has been sought.Material and Methods: An in vivo chamber bioreactor was designed with the White New Zealand rabbit's superficial inferior epigastric pedicle (SIEP) and using autologous Schwann cell (ASC) suspension, a tissue volume containing rich vascularization and a dense presence of Schwann cells was constructed. This construct was comparatively tried on 3 cm of a sciatic nerve defect.Results: A vascularized build with rich blood supply and an abundance of Schwann cells was engineered and utilized for nerve regeneration and transmission, axonal passage being displayed.Conclusion: According to the literature review, this is the first achievement of engineering a nerve graft substitute containing vascularized Schwann cells. Therefore, it is believed this study has yielded significant preliminary results, providing a basis for future studies. [Hand Microsurg 2016; 5(2.000): 62-69