A New Method to Harvest the Sural Nerve Graft

Objective: In this study, we developed a novel harvest technique for the sural nerve using the mini incisions and the carpal tunnel dilators.

Materials and Methods: The technique was applied to the 29 sides on 27 patients (24 men and 3 women). The mean age was 27.1 years old (9 to 51). The diagnoses were soft tissue traumas in 23 cases, fracture in 2 cases and previous complicated operation in 2 cases. The harmful effects of harvest procedure on the sural nerve graft was double-blind evaluated histopathologically and compared with control group.

Results: All the nerve grafts were harvested successfully with no macroscopic damage to the sural nerve graft. There was no statistically significant difference between the histopathologic scores of the distal and proximal nerve segments (p>0.05). The average follow-up time was 17 months (8 to 46 months). In the postoperative period, no complication such as massive bleeding / hematoma, wound infection, skin necrosis, painful neuroma formation, prolonged calf tenderness was observed. There were inconspicious scars in all cases.

Conclusion: The method seems safe and has no damage on the nerve graft histopathologically. We believe that the technique may be used in the future with these advantages.

Cite this article as: Cinal H, Barin EZ, Kara M, et al. A New Method to Harvest the Sural Nerve Graft. Eurasian J Med 2020; 52(1): 12-5.