Can a severed nerve be repaired?

Neurotomy is a relatively serious disease. Generally, if the peripheral nerves are severed, recovery can be achieved through certain treatments. For example, if the limbs are severed, they can be recovered through treatment. However, if the nerves are severed above the waist, current medical technology has not yet reached the level of treatment. When nerves are severed above the waist, it often causes more serious paralysis.

Symptoms after nerve rupture:

(1) Sensory impairment: The distribution of sensory nerves overlaps with the innervation areas of adjacent nerves, so the range of complete impairment is small and once they are damaged at the same time. The scope has also expanded. In sensory impairment, pain, touch, temperature, and stereoscopic perception are all impaired.

(2) Movement disorders: After nerve damage, the muscles it controls are completely paralyzed, and the muscles atrophy and degenerate, and the changes are progressive.

(3) No sweat: Because the sympathetic nerves running through the peripheral nerves are cut off, the sweat glands lose their function immediately and the local area gradually becomes dry. It is about the same range as sensory paralysis.

(4) Disorders of the vasomotor system: The sympathetic nerves running in the peripheral nerves have a constrictive effect on the blood vessels. Therefore, when they are cut off, they lose their vasoconstrictive effect, causing the peripheral blood vessels to dilate and become congested, the skin temperature to rise, and the skin properties to change, leading to abnormal hair and nail deformation.

(5) Nerve damage: can cause osteoporosis, joint capsule and joint fibrosis.

Difficulty in repairing severed nerves

A nerve bundle as thin as a hair not only contains thousands of nerve fibers, but each nerve fiber "performs" a specific function, such as the sensory properties of pain perception, cold and heat perception, pressure perception, as well as the contraction and relaxation of individual muscle cells, etc. Each nerve only does one thing and cannot be "crossed". Otherwise, it would be impossible to ensure that the many functions of the human body are orderly.

It can be seen that the surgical operation has connected a nerve, but it is only a visible nerve that is at least thicker than a hair. The appearance is connected, but in fact, whether the thousands of nerve fibers inside can match the original myelin sheath can only depend on luck.