Nordsletten L, Madsen J E, Almaas R, Rootwelt T, Halse J, Konttinen Y T, Hukkanen M, Santavirta S
Institute for Surgical Research, Rikshospitalet (The National Hospital), University of Oslo, Norway.
Acta Orthop Scand. 1994 Jun;65(3):299-304. doi: 10.3109/17453679408995457.
The effect of sciatic nerve resection on tibial fracture healing was studied in rats 25 days post-trauma. To prevent differences in loading between sham-operated and nerve-resected animals the fractured limbs were cast-immobilized. On radiograms 8 of 11 fractures in the sham-operated animals showed very little callus formation in contrast to only 1 of 8 fractures in the group with nerve resection. Measured by single-photon absorptiometry, animals with sciatic nerve resection had a higher bone mineral content than the sham-operated animals. However, the mechanical strength in three-point cantilever bending was not better in the nerve-resected rats, implying a defective organization of the large callus. These results suggest neural regulation plays a role in the type of fracture healing, primary or secondary, and in the amount and quality of the callus.
