Comparison Outcome of Nerve Regeneration across an Eggshell Membrane Guidance Channel and Autograft

Peripheral nerves may be damaged during an injury and its
current standard treatment is using an autologous nerve.
Objectives: The purpose of this experimental study is to evaluate and compare
the histological results of nerve regeneration after using the eggshell membrane
(ESM) guidance channel with autograft.
Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male rats were divided into three
experimental groups: ESM guidance channel, autograft, and sham surgery. The
decalcifying membrane of egg rotated over the Teflon mandrel and dried at
37°C. A 10 mm nerve segment of left sciatic nerve was cut and removed. In
ESM group, the ends of the sciatic nerve were telescoped into the nerve guides.
In autograft group, the nerve segment was reversed and used as an autologous
nerve graft. At 90 days after surgery, all animals were evaluated by histological
and immunohistochemical assessment.
Results: The diameters of regenerated myelinated fibers were 5.24±2.14 µm
for the ESM group, and 5.89±2.99 µm for the autograft group. The number of
myelinated axons regenerated in the ESM group (9824±218 nerve fibers) was
significantly greater than autograft group (7865±314 nerve fibers) (p<0.05).
Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that ESM effectively enhances nerve
regeneration in injured rat sciatic nerve