Wise Young
12-11-2001, 07:51 AM
• Fullarton AC, Myles LM, Lenihan DV, Hems TE and Glasby MA (2001). Obstetric brachial plexus palsy: a comparison of the degree of recovery after repair of a C6 ventral root avulsion in newborn and adult sheep. Br J Plast Surg. 54 (8): 697-704. Summary: The C6 motor rootlets were avulsed from the spinal cord in six newborn lambs to simulate a birth lesion of the upper root of the brachial plexus. Six 1-year-old sheep were used for comparison, and treated in a similar manner. The injury was repaired immediately in each group using an autologous coaxial freeze-thawed skeletal muscle graft. The animals were allowed to recover for 1 year after the surgery. The C6 root was then examined electrophysiologically and morphologically. The results were compared with those obtained from a group of untreated intact 1-year-old sheep. The fibre and axon diameters and myelin sheath thickness were significantly different in the group repaired as lambs when compared with the group repaired at the age of 1 year. There was also a significantly increased maximum conduction velocity and a greater range of conduction velocities within the nerve in the lambs. Central motor latency was significantly slower in the sheep than in the lambs. These findings would suggest a greater potential for recovery in the lambs after brachial plexus root avulsion injuries. Copyright 2001 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=11728113> Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK