Abstract
Peripheral nerve injuries are known to have devastating impact on a patient’s quality of life. These injuries can occur after high-impact activities, traumatic injuries, or motor vehicle accidents. When a nerve is transected or crushed, it encounters roadblocks that must be overcome for efficient and effective neural regeneration. Although microsurgical reconstruction offers hope for improved results after surgery, surgical manipulations alone have not optimized the outcomes. Tensionless, primary repair is the gold standard for nerve injuries without gaps, whereas injuries with segmental defects challenge standard surgical techniques for nerve repair. As such, modalities such as structural guides and luminal additives are and continue to be developed in an attempt to improve outcomes. Furthermore, research has focused on accelerating the process of regeneration after injury through pharmacological agents, implantation of stem cells, and gene therapy, all for the ultimate purpose of better functional recovery at the end. In this chapter we review the current literature relevant to the utilization of available biologic augments in peripheral nerve repair. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.