Direct Reconnection of Cervical Nerves to Restore Forelimb Mobility in a Mouse

Begin with a mouse with a severed left cervical 7 or C7 nerve at its merger points.

And a dissected right C7 nerve from its nerve root until its division level, resulting in reduced mobility of the right forelimb.

Remove muscles on both sides of the vertebral bodies.

Separate the tissue between the trachea, esophagus, and vertebral bodies to create a prespinal space.

Thread a suture loop through the prespinal route to secure the left C7 nerve and guide it to the right side.

Retract the trachea and esophagus to improve access.

Align left and right nerve divisions and suture the nerve’s outer sheath.

This facilitates nerve reconnection and restores movement of the right forelimb.

Irrigate the wound with saline and use a sterile gauze to clean the area before closing the surgical site.

The mouse is now ready for further analysis of direct nerve reconnection.

Before transferring the left C7 nerve, remove the muscular longus coli beside the vertebra bodies partially on both sides.

Then separate and expand the space between the trachea, esophagus, and vertebral body. Once done, send a loop made of 7-0 nylon suture from the right side of the vertebral body to the left side through the prespinal root, hitch the left C7 nerve with a nylon suture loop and guide the nerve to the right side via the prespinal root. After retracting the trachea and esophagus, co apt the anterior and posterior divisions of the left C7 nerve to the right C7 nerve root without tension using 12-0 nylon sutures.

Suture the epineurium around the nerves with four to five stitches to coaptate the nerve strongly. When suturing is done, irrigate the wound with sterile normal saline, followed by drying with sterile gauze, then suture the sternum and close the skin using 5-0 monofilament sutures.