KERATIN BIOMATERIAL SCAFFOLDS FOR PERIPHERAL NERVE REGENERATION

Abstract

Peripheral nerve injury is a relevant clinical concern. Although surgical management of these injuries has improved over time, the current "gold standard" for nerve transection injury, autograft, has many limitations. Nerve conduits are used as an alternative to autograft surgery but they are currently recommended for the repair of small defects (≤ 3cm) in small diameter sensory nerves only. Use of filler materials inside the conduit have been shown to increase the defect size in which conduits can be effective and can result in greater functional recovery in animal models.