Weber PGA conduit RCT

A randomized prospective study of polyglycolic acid conduits for digital nerve reconstruction in humans

Weber RA, Breidenbach WC, Brown RE, et al. Plastic and reconstructive surgery 2000 · PMID 11039375 · doi:10.1097/00006534-200010000-00013

Question

Is a bioabsorbable polyglycolic acid conduit as effective as standard repair or autograft for digital nerve injuries?

Design

Prospective randomised multicentre trial.

Patients

Adults with transected digital nerves in the hand.

Intervention

Polyglycolic acid nerve conduit

Comparison

End-to-end repair for short gaps or nerve autograft for longer gaps

Primary outcome

Moving and static two-point discrimination

Key result

Overall sensory recovery was similar between groups; conduits gave better two-point discrimination than end-to-end repair for small gaps and outperformed autograft for gaps of 8 mm or more.

Limitations

Modest sample with heterogeneous gap lengths and comparators; findings limited to sensory digital nerves.

Impact on practice

Provided the main RCT evidence for using conduits to bridge short digital nerve gaps, avoiding donor-site morbidity of sural or other graft harvest.