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The first ever trial of microsurgical suture repair vs nerve alignment for digital nerve injuries suggests suture repair does not improve outcomes.

Doctor repairs finger and applies a bandage

Digital nerve injuries are the most common type of nerve injury treated surgically in the UK, often caused by sharp cuts to the fingers. Around 3,000 digital nerve repairs are performed annually across England and Wales with the aim of retaining the feeling in the fingers. Until now, the assumption has been that delicate microsurgical repair offers patients the best chance of recovery.

The NEON (Nerve rEpair Or Not) Trial, a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) across 17 NHS hospitals, compared outcomes between patients treated with traditional microsurgical suture repair and those who had their nerve ends carefully aligned without stitches. Despite being closed early by the funder, it is the largest study of its kind in this common injury.

The trial, managed by the Oxford Surgical Intervention Trials Unit (SITU) and the Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit (OCTRU), recruited 122 patients and followed them for 12 months after surgery.

 

Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences website.