Nerve Repair Using Hydrophilic Polymers to Promote Immediate Fusion of Severed Axons and Swift Return of Function

Current strategies for peripheral nerve repair are severely limited. Even with current techniques, it can take months for regenerating axons to reach denervated target tissues when injuries are proximally located. This inability to rapidly restore the loss of function after axonal injury continues to produce poor clinical outcomes. The investigators propose testing the efficacy and safety of a combination therapy: polyethylene glycol (PEG) assisted axonal fusion technique to repair peripheral nerve injuries in humans.

Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of a Sunderland Class 5 traumatic neuropathy (transection injury) of a digital nerve in the upper extremity * candidates for immediate operative repair (Arm 1); * injury proceeding repair no longer than 72 hours; and * repair within 48 hours of injury that require nerve grafting; * N0 significant medical comorbidities precluding immediate repair; * willing to comply with all aspects of the treatment and evaluation schedule over a 12 months period. We plan to include subjects who have peripheral nerve injuries that are complicated by significant vascular or orthopedic damage. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients will be excluded from enrollment if their injuries exhibit gross contamination, in circumstances where soft tissue coverage is inadequate, or when staged repair is planned. * We will also exclude patients that are diabetic, have been diagnosed with a neuromuscular disease, or are undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other treatments known to affect the growth of the neural and vascular system. * We will exclude all patients currently enrolled in another investigational study or those who are unlikely to complete the normal regime of occupational therapy. Individuals will be excluded from participation if their time of injury falls outside study parameters.