Comparison of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) with autogenous vein as a nerve conduit in rat sciatic nerve defects

Abstract

Objectives: In this study, we compared expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) tube with autogenous vein as an alternative conduit material in a rat sciatic nerve model.

Study design: Thirty Wistar albino rats were assigned to three groups equal in number. A 1-cm defect was created in the right sciatic nerve of each rat. In group I (control), the nerve gap was repaired with autogenous nerve graft. In group II and III, the defects were bridged with autogenous vein graft and ePTFE tube, respectively. At 30 and 90 days, five rats from each group were subjected to inspection of feet for pressure sores, walking tract analysis, electrophysiological and histomorphological studies, and gastrocnemius muscle studies.

Results: At 90 days, the mean gastrocnemius index in the nerve graft group (48.5+/-3) was statistically different from those of the autogenous vein (31.2+/-6) and ePTFE (35.3+/-8) groups (p<0.05). The mean myelinated axonal counts were 239+/-35, 164+/-34, and 145+/-31 in the nerve graft, vein graft, and ePTFE graft groups, respectively. The nerve graft group results were significantly better than the other groups (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in sciatic function index and electrophysiology results. The differences between the autogenous vein graft and ePTFE were not significant for any research parameters.

Conclusion: It was experimentally demonstrated that ePTFE tube could be considered an alternative to autogenous vein graft to bridge small nerve defects.