Peripheral Nerve Regeneration in Gore-Tex Chambers

Abstract

Gore-tex chambers were used to bridge a 6 mm gap between the proximal and distal nerve stumps of a rat sciatic nerve. The wall structure of these chambers is characterized by “nodes” interconnected by smaller fibrils. Chambers with internodal distances of 5, 10 and 30 μm were used. Some 30 μm chambers were coated from the outside with Gore-tex (0.2 μm internodal distance) and others were coated from the inside. Regeneration after 12 weeks, as evidenced by muscle action potential recordings and light microscopy, was successful regardless of what type of chamber had been used. The organization of the nerve structure varied among different chamber types. A well organized coaxial nerve structure with myelinated axons was observed if inner-coated chambers were used. In chambers that were not coated or in outer-coated chambers tissue completely filled the chambers, and myelinated axons were arranged in mini-fascicles surrounded by loose connective tissue.