ABSTRACT
The results of surgical reconstruction by proximal nerve repair or with long nerve grafts are often not satisfying clinically. Recovery of motor and sensory function depends on a critical number of axons reaching the target organ and on reinnervating muscle fibres and sensory receptors within a critical period after denervation. In limited cases, like in avulsion injuries, where no donor nerve or nerve transfer is available for direct end-toend suture, or in cases where extremely long distances have to be overcome by the regenerating axons and limited functional results are to be expected, end-to-side suture of the distal part of the injured nerve to an uninjured nerve in the neighbourhood may offer a practical solution.
