Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and quantify functional and structural nerve regeneration after reconstruction using either direct suture or silicon graft.Methods: Thirty-two adult Wistar Albino rats were divided in two equal groups. The left sciatic nerve was cross-sectioned and reconstructed using either direct suture (DS group) or a silicone graft (SG group). At 4, 6, 8 and 10 weeks two rats were randomly chosen from each group for in vivo measurement of nerve electric conductivity and subsequently sacrificed together with other two rats from the same group for in vitro 1H NMR relaxometry measurements. The T2 distributions were assigned to 1H located in different pools corresponding to the nerve structure.Results: In the injured nerve we observed a significant increase in the stimulation threshold and a decrease in conduction velocity when compared with the healthy nerve in both groups. Whereas the conduction velocity increased progressively from 4 to 10 weeks in the DS group, the opposite evolution was observed in the SG group. In both groups, the first two peaks corresponding to water bound to collagen and epineurium had smaller transverse relaxation times in the injured nerves, while there was no change in the peaks corresponding to perineurium and free water between healthy and injured nerves.Conclusions: Significant differences were observed between direct suture and nerve graft reconstructions from both a functional and structural point of view. In the case of direct suture reconstruction, the nerve was functionally healed at 10 weeks after injury.

Peripheral nerve reconstruction is a much debated subject nowadays that is why new surgical techniques are being performed. It has been demonstrated that after a complete section of a peripheral nerve, the healing process takes time, and most frequently the recovery is not complete. Muscle cells and fat cells due to their chemical components, can contribute in the healing process of the peripheral nerves. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of wrapping a muscle flap or an adipose flap around the primary suture of a cuted nerve in order to improve the motor nerve regeneration in a rat model by using in vivo electric conductivity measurements.

Introduction: Cardiac fibroma is a rare benign tumor, although it is considered the second most frequent cardiac tumor in children. It is located in the ventricular myocardium, frequently in the interventricular septum. One third of the cases are asymptomatic, being discovered postmortem. Case presentation: A 10-year-old male child accused severe dyspnea a few minutes before its sudden death. Autopsy examination revealed hypertrophic cardiomegaly, the entire left ventricular wall being replaced by an enlarged tumor mass. On histopathological examination, the tumor was diagnosed as cardiac fibroma. Conclusions: Noninvasive examinations during childhood, such as cardiac ultrasound, increase the early detection of the tumors of the heart, decreasing the number of sudden death cases in young patients, especially children.