Experimental transclival exposure and repair of the abducens nerve in cats.

Operations were carried out on eight cats using a transcervical, transclival approach to expose the sixth cranial nerve just beside the basilar artery. In one case 5 mm of the nerve were resected; three months later no reinnervation was seen. In another cat the nerve ends were merely adapted, and good regeneration was seen despite slight neuroma formation. In a third case TabotampR and Aron-Alpha R were used to repair the skull base; this resulted in a neuroma and in atrophy of the sixth cranial nerve with scar adhesions rendering regeneration impossible. In five cases the transsected nerves were glued together with a fibrin adhesive, with excellent results: very good regeneration and reinnervation occurred within three months with ideal parallel alignment of the nerve fibres at the site of the lesion.