2-PLY BIODEGRADABLE NERVE GUIDE - BASIC ASPECTS OF DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND BIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE

A synthetic biodegradable nerve guide was constructed of two polymeric layers: an inner microporous layer prepared from a copolymer of l-lactide and ε{lunate}-caprolactone (pore size range 0.5-1μm) and an outer microporous layer prepared from a polyurethane/poly(l-lactide) mixture (pore size range 30-70 μm). This nerve guide was used to bridge a 7 mm gap in the right sciatic nerve of rats. It enabled the sciatic nerve to regenerate across the gap, forming a new, well-defined nerve that effectively re-established the contact between the proximial and distal nerve end, as effective as an autograft. © 1990.