IntroductionPhrenic nerve transfer has been shown to achieve good nerve regeneration in brachial plexus avulsion. Acellular nerve allografts (ANAs) showed inferior results to autografts, which is why its use with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is currently being studied. The aim is to study the effect of BM‐MSCs associated with ANAs in a rat model of phrenic nerve transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve in a C5‐C6 avulsion.Material and methods42 Wistar‐Lewis rats underwent a C5‐C6 lesion in the right forelimb by excising a 3 mm segment from both roots, followed by a phrenic nerve transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve associated with the interposition of a three types of nerve graft (randomly distributed): control (autograft) group (n = 12), ANAs group (n = 12), and ANAs + BM‐MSCs group (n = 18)After 12 weeks, amplitude and latency of the NAP and the compound motor action potential (CMAP) were measured. Biceps muscles were studied by histological analysis and nerve grafts by electron microscopy and fluorescence analysis.ResultsStatistically significant reductions were found in latency of the CMAP between groups control (2.48 ± 0.47 ms) and experimental (ANAs: 4.38 ± 0.78 ms, ANAs + BM‐MSCs: 4.08 ± 0.85 ms) and increases in the amplitude of the CMAP between groups control (0.04388 ± 0.02 V) and ANAs + BM‐MSCs (0.02275 ± 0.02 V), as well as in the thickness of the myelin sheath between groups control (0.81 ± 0.07 μm) and experimental (ANAs: 0.72 ± 0.08 μm, ANAs + BM‐MSCs: 0.72 ± 0.07 μm) and in the area of the myelin sheath between groups control (13.09 ± 2.67 μm2) and ANAs (10.01 ± 2.97 μm2) (p < .05). No statistically significant differences have been found between groups ANAs and ANAs + BM‐MSCs.ConclusionsThis study presents a model for the study of lesions of the upper trunk and validates the autologous graft as the gold standard.
Palabras clave Estudio anatómico, Flexor digitorum superficialis. Código numérico 104-15830 El objetivo de nuestro estudio es describir la distribución de la vascularización del músculo flexor digitorum superficialis para optimizar sus indicaciones en Cirugía Reconstructiva de miembro superior. Disecamos 15 antebrazos fijados según el método Thiel y coloreados mediante la inyección de látex en los vasos femorales. Centramos nuestro estudio en la disección del músculo flexor digitorum superficialis, seleccionando únicamente los pedículos vasculares que superan los 2 mm, valorando los resultados en función de sus relaciones anatómicas y de su longitud. El número total hallado de arterias nutrientes del vientre muscular fue de 219, localizándose en mayor porcentaje en el tercio medio del antebrazo. De los resultados obtenidos de nuestro estudio podemos deducir que las arterias cubital y cubital recurrente aportan la vascularización dominante. Medialmente, el músculo recibe ramas de la arteria cubital y cubital recurrente, en la parte profunda del vientre muscular. Lateral y proximalmente, recibe ramas de la arteria mediana, mientras que lateral y distalmente recibe ramas de la arteria radial, que penetran en la superficie del músculo.
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