OMENTAL TRANSPOSITION THERAPY FOR SPINAL CORD INJURY

We tried to apply the omental transposition therapy to the canine spinal cord injury model caused by balloon compression without laminectomy in order to judge whether this therapy is effective or not. To make spinal cord injury model, a balloon catheter was inserted into the extradural space via the intervertebral foramen of six dogs, then the balloon was inflated at L1 by injection of saline. Compression of the spinal cord for 10 minutes at 1.5 ml produced severe paraplegia. MR images from all the dogs revealed a high-intensity region in T2-weighted images 4 h after the compression. One week after the compression, an omentum pedicle graft was placed on the spinal cord through the subcutaneous tunnel and fixed to the surface of the injured spinal cord. Angiography and MR imaging was performed 6 months after compression. T1-weighted images revealed the enhanced intensity of the spinal cord as well as that of the omentum after injection of contrast media containing gadolinium via the gastroepiploic artery. The result suggested the vessels’ connection between the spinal cord and the omentum. The control group dogs showed no hindlimb movement during the observation time, whereas improvement of hindlimb movement were admitted in the group treated with omentum 4 months after compression. Though the decompression effect caused by the laminectomy should also be taken into account, covering the injured spinal cord with omentum pedicle improved the hindlimb movements.This result indicated the potential of the omentopexy for the therapy of spinal cord injury.