Nerve repair using freezing and fibrin glue: immediate histologic improvement of axonal coaptation.

Abstract

Despite the fine microsurgical techniques available, injuries to peripheral nerves are still a surgical problem. Sutures placed in the epineurium or perineurium cause compression, brushing, and misdirection of endoneural tissue. A technique of nerve repair using freezing to trim the nerve and fibrin glue to coat it before thawing is described. The entire surgical repair procedure is carried out with the nerve stumps frozen. The observed axonal alignment with this technique was much better than that obtained by microsuture alone.