Peripheral nerve regeneration following scaffold-free conduit transplant of autologous dermal fibroblasts: a non-randomised safety and feasibility trial

Physical injuries often result in damage to nerves, for example, in the hands. Replacement of the nerve with nerves removed from elsewhere in the patient’s body is often the suggested treatment when the nerve is unable to repair itself. As an alternative to remove healthy nerve from elsewhere in the body, we used an adapted printer to create an artificial nerve equivalent from skin cells obtained from the patient’s skin. We reconstructed the nerves of three individual with nerve defects in their hands, and we found that the function of the nerve improved, and the people did not experience negative consequences. This approach could be used widely to repair damaged nerves.