ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the histologic evaluation of a Poly(Glycolic Acid) (PGA) non-woven tubulization device implanted around an intact rat sciatic nerve. It reports successful nerve regeneration in a non-human primate model utilizing a non-woven tubulization device made from PGA. The principal objective of peripheral nerve repair is to align and maintain the proximal and distal stumps of the severed nerve in the pre-injury alignment so that axonal regeneration across the repair site may occur. The chapter identifies differences between the cellular response elicited by the sterilization procedures, namely ethylene oxide and gamma irradiation. Resorbable nerve repair devices made from a mat of chopped polyglycolic acid fibers were placed around the dissected sciatic nerve of Sprague Dawley rats. The chapter concludes that the processing and sterilization method did not substantially alter the chemical composition of the PGA suture.
