Evaluation of biodegradable electric conductive tube-guides and mesenchymal stem cells

Figure 3 Surgery of the rat sciatic nerve neurotmesis injury model. Under deep anesthesia the right sciatic nerve was exposed unilaterally through a skin incision extending from the greater trochanter to the mid-half distally followed by a muscle splitting incision (A). After nerve mobilization (B), a transection injury was performed (neurotmesis) using a straight microsurgical scissors (C). In group 5 (End-to-End) after neurotmesis, immediate cooptation with 7/0 monofilament polypropylene suture was performed (D). Implantation of the tube-guide in the 10 mm gap (E). Local application of the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the MSCs suspension filled the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) tube-guide lumen (group 6: PVA-CNTs-MSCs) (F).