Lei Zhang1, Chun-Lin Zhang1, Zhen Dong2, Yu-Dong Gu2. 1. Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. 2. Department of Hand Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Functional recovery following supinator motor branch transfer requires further investigation. OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcome of finger extension after supinator motor branch transfer or contralateral C7 (cC7) transfer in C7-T1 brachial plexus palsies in rats. METHODS: In this study, 120 adult rats underwent C7-T1 nerve root avulsion and received different nerve transfer repairs: group A, cC7 nerve transfer to the lower trunk; group B, supinator motor branch nerve transfer to the posterior interosseous nerve (PIN); and group C, no repair. The ethology of the rats, latency and amplitude of the compound muscle action potential from the PIN, muscle mass and muscle fiber cross-sectional area of the extensor digitorum communis and extensor carpi ulnaris, and number of myelinated nerve fibers in the PIN were examined postoperatively. RESULTS: There was no finger extension in group C. We observed finger extension in groups A and B 50.2 ± 5.66 and 13.1 ± 2.08 days postoperatively, respectively. Finger extension restoration in group B was greater than that in group A at 4, 8, and 12 weeks postoperatively ( P < .05). Sixteen weeks after surgery, the recovery rate of the myelinated nerve fibers in group A was marginally higher than that in group B, but the difference was not significant. Of the other measured values, group B showed a greater and significant improvement compared to group A ( P < .05). CONCLUSION: Supinator motor branch transfer allows for faster recovery and is a more effective procedure for restoring finger extension in C7-T1 brachial plexus palsies.
BACKGROUND: Functional recovery following supinator motor branch transfer requires further investigation. OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcome of finger extension after supinator motor branch transfer or contralateral C7 (cC7) transfer in C7-T1 brachial plexus palsies in rats. METHODS: In this study, 120 adult rats underwent C7-T1 nerve root avulsion and received different nerve transfer repairs: group A, cC7 nerve transfer to the lower trunk; group B, supinator motor branch nerve transfer to the posterior interosseous nerve (PIN); and group C, no repair. The ethology of the rats, latency and amplitude of the compound muscle action potential from the PIN, muscle mass and muscle fiber cross-sectional area of the extensor digitorum communis and extensor carpi ulnaris, and number of myelinated nerve fibers in the PIN were examined postoperatively. RESULTS: There was no finger extension in group C. We observed finger extension in groups A and B 50.2 ± 5.66 and 13.1 ± 2.08 days postoperatively, respectively. Finger extension restoration in group B was greater than that in group A at 4, 8, and 12 weeks postoperatively ( P < .05). Sixteen weeks after surgery, the recovery rate of the myelinated nerve fibers in group A was marginally higher than that in group B, but the difference was not significant. Of the other measured values, group B showed a greater and significant improvement compared to group A ( P < .05). CONCLUSION: Supinator motor branch transfer allows for faster recovery and is a more effective procedure for restoring finger extension in C7-T1 brachial plexus palsies.