A Tissue-Engineered Conduit for Peripheral Nerve Repair

Abstract

PERIPHERAL NERVE injuries continue to be among the most challenging problems faced by surgeons. Within otolaryngology, it has been particularly difficult to develop appropriate strategies for the management of facial paralysis, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, and the morbidity associated with insensate oropharyngeal and esophageal flap reconstructions after ablative surgery for malignancy. The development of a synthetic nerve guidance conduit would be of enormous utility in the management of these and other nerve-related problems in otolaryngology.