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CRAIG L. CUPP, MD
San Diego, Calif

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1991;117(10):1083.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Thomas C. Huang, MD, Roger Crumley, MD, and Robert Blanks, PhD, presented their research on laser-assisted nerve repair in the rat model at the spring meeting of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Hawaii. Dr Huang's report was one of a series of investigations on nerve repair from the University of California at Irvine.

Conventional nerve repair techniques using 10-0 nylon sutures suffer from "mushrooming" at the anastomotic site, according to Dr Huang, due to bending of axons at the nerve end as well as axoplasmic leak. Typically, about 25% of axons are correctly aligned.

Past attempts to improve nerve alignment have included a "snap" freezing technique with trimming of nerve ends and anastomosis. This approach results in correct alignment in 70% of axons. While results are superior to conventional techniques, the equipment involved is a major limiting factor.

Dr Huang then described a new "laser-assisted" . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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