A Rapid Protocol for Intraoperative Assessment of Peripheral Nerve Myelinated Axon Count and its Application to Cross-Facial Nerve Grafting

What is it about?

The number of axons in a donor nerve correlates with long-term outcomes in nerve transfer procedures. Such procedures are commonly performed to treat patients with facial palsy. Until now, there existed no reliable means for quickly determining axon counts during surgery. Herein, we report a new protocol for rapid quantification of axons within nerve, and demonstrate its utility to surgical practice.

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