Mechanical damage to the peripheral nerves, especially their transection, is a serious disabling injury, treatment of which and rehabilitation related to the consequences of such traumas are an urgent and important medical/social problem. In experiments on animals, we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of multiple-point epineural connection of segments of the transected sciatic nerve using an electric welding technology. Left-side transection of the above nerve at a middle third of the thigh was performed in adult albino mongrel male rats. The experimental groups were the following: intact animals (I, n = 5), those subjected to sham surgery (Sh, n = 6), rats with neurotomy and no additional interventions (NT, n = 21), neurotomy + epineural neurorrhaphy (NT+NR, n = 18), and neurotomy + electric welding of the nerve segments (NT+EW, n = 21). It was found that the EW connection provided fast and reliable fixation of the nerve segments with subsequent significant recovery of transmission via the injured nerve and progressing partial normalization of morphological characteristics of the fibers within a regenerative neuroma at the site of nerve transection; indices characterizing the density of nerve fibers and mean angle of their deviation from the longitudinal nerve axis were the best in the NT+EW group. Most intense positive changes in the sciatic functional index (SFI), an integrative index characterizing the level of functional disorders of locomotion-related movements performed by the hindlimb at the NT side, were observed in the NT+NR and NT+EW groups. Our data clearly showed that the efficiency of the welding connection of an injured nerve is at least not lower than that provided by neurorrhaphy; the dynamics of recovery after both operations are quite comparable. The EW connection is much simpler and does not require an exclusively high qualification of the surgeon; in the case of operations on nerves in humans, the respective surgery will require less time and will be less expensive.

中文翻译：

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使用电焊技术恢复横断的周围神经的完整性

对周围神经的机械损伤，尤其是它们的横断，是一种严重的致残性损伤，其治疗和与此类创伤后果相关的康复是一个紧迫且重要的医学/社会问题。在动物实验中，我们评估了使用电焊技术对横断坐骨神经节段进行多点神经外连接的有效性和安全性。在成年白化杂种雄性大鼠中，在大腿中间三分之一处对上述神经进行左侧横断。实验组如下：完整动物（I，n = 5），那些接受假手术的动物（Sh，n = 6），神经切开术和没有额外干预的大鼠（NT，n = 21），神经切断术+神经外膜切除术（ NT+NR，n = 18）和神经切开术 + 神经节段电焊（NT+EW，n = 21）。发现 EW 连接提供了神经节段的快速可靠的固定，随后通过受损神经的传输显着恢复，并且在神经横断部位的再生神经瘤内纤维的形态特征逐渐部分正常化；表征神经纤维密度和它们与纵向神经轴偏离的平均角度的指标在NT+EW组中是最好的。在 NT+NR 和 NT+EW 组中观察到坐骨神经功能指数 (SFI) 的最强烈的积极变化，SFI 是表征 NT 侧后肢运动相关运动功能障碍水平的综合指数。我们的数据清楚地表明，受伤神经的焊接连接效率至少不低于神经修复术提供的效率；两次手术后的恢复动态相当。EW 连接要简单得多，并且不需要外科医生的高素质；在对人体神经进行手术的情况下，相应的手术将需要更少的时间并且更便宜。