Thirty patients suffering from peripheral nerve injuries
in the upper limb have been managed by secondary nerve
repair. Clinical assessment was the same in all cases as well
as surgical exploration and preparation of both ends of the
injured nerves. Before coaptation of both ends, cases were
divided randomly into two groups.
Group 1:Fifteen patients where coaptation of both nerve
ends were performed by conventional microsurgical repair
using 8/0 and 9/0 ethilon sutures.
Group 2:Fifteen patients where coaptation of both nerve
ends were performed by the use of fibrin glue.
The limb was splinted for four weeks and physiotherapy
started later. Follow-up was performed according toa planned
protocol until 18 months postoperatively, and both motor and
sensory recovery was evaluated and recorded according to
standard scores. The final outcome showed that the use of
fibrin glue is easier, faster and more reliable forcoaptation
of nerve ends and gives similar results or slightlybetter
outcome than the conventional suturing techniques