Effect of laser therapy (660 nm) on recovery of the sciatic nerve in rats after injury through neurotmesis followed by epineural anastomosis

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) laser (660 nm) on the myelin sheath and functional recovery of the sciatic nerve in rats. The sciatic nerves of 12 Wistar rats were subjected to injury through neurotmesis and epineural anastomosis, and the animals were divided into two groups: group 1 was the control and group 2, underwent low-level laser therapy (LLLT). After the injury, AlGaAs laser at 660 nm, 4 J/cm(2), 26.3 mW and beam area of 0.63 cm(2) was administered to three equidistant points on the injury for 20 consecutive days. In the control group the mean area of the myelin impairment was 0.51 (+/- 0.11) on day 21 after the operation, whereas this value was 1.31 (+/- 0.22) in the LLLT group. Student's t-test revealed a P value = 0.0229 for the mean area values of the myelin sheath between the LLLT and control groups. Comparison of the sciatic functional index (SFI) showed that there was no significant difference between the pre-lesion value in the laser therapy group and the control group. The use of AlGaAs laser (660 nm) provided significant changes to the morphometrically assessed area of the myelin sheath, but it did not culminate in positive results for functional recovery in the sciatic nerve of the rats after injury through neurotmesis.