- ICH GCP
- US Clinical Trials Registry
- Clinical Trial NCT05897086
Polyethylene-glycol Assisted Nerve Repair in Phalloplasty
Nerve Repair Using Hydrophilic Polymers to Improve Tactile and Erogenous Neophallus Sensation
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
With more than 1.6 million transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) individuals in the United States, the investigators have witnessed an exponential increase in the number of gender-affirming surgeries performed in the last 2 decades. Of the affirming surgical spectrum, "bottom" genitourinary surgeries remain the most challenging. Specifically, phalloplasty is a masculinizing surgery for neophallus creation using free tissue transfer from other parts of the body and microvascular techniques for nerve and vessel reattachment. In radial forearm free flap (RFFF) phalloplasty, nerves from the forearm are harvested with the flap and sutured to nerves in the groin to provide postoperative sensation in the neophallus. Despite transmasculine patients ranking sensation as one of their top priorities, standard nerve coaptations performed in phalloplasty fail to provide consistent sensation with scarce dedicated research aimed at enhancing neophallus sensory outcomes. Without scientific advances, phalloplasty will remain far from perfect, negatively affecting patients' sexual health, causing dissatisfaction, and increasing the risk of surgical regret and persistent dysphoria.
Peripheral nerve regeneration remains the limiting factor for ideal sensory recovery due to the slow and inconsistent rates of regeneration, and the negative effects of axonal degeneration that occurs post-injury. The investigators advocate for using polyethylene glycol as a "fusogen" to achieve nerve fusion in peripheral nerve coaptations. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a hydrophilic compound that enhances the fusion of the lipid bilayer membrane of severed axons, restoring the nerve's immediate ability to conduct electrical signals across the repair site. The investigators have conducted extensive mammalian and preliminary human studies using our novel PEG-fusion protocol for nerve coaptations. In both ex-vivo and in-vivo studies in rats with severed sciatic nerves, PEG-assisted nerve coaptation restored morphological continuity and led to a remarkable early improvement in functional outcomes. In the first human PEG fusion of injured digital nerves performed by our team, the investigators saw rapid nerve recovery and early functional outcomes as early as one week. Based on the investigator's experience with PEG fusion, the investigators will be conducting a randomized clinical trial to test the efficacy of PEG-assisted nerve coaptation in achieving superior neophallus sensory function following phalloplasty.
Study Type
Enrollment (Estimated)
Phase
- Phase 2
- Phase 3
Contacts and Locations
Study Contact
- Name: Wesley Thayer, MD, PhD
- Phone Number: 615-936-0160
- Email: wesley.thayer@vumc.org
Study Contact Backup
- Name: Sriya Nemani
- Phone Number: 425-802-9696
- Email: sriya.v.nemani.1@vumc.org
Study Locations
-
-
Tennessee
-
Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
-
-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Adult
- Older Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- over the age of 18
- preoperative diagnosis of gender dysphoria and present for planned radial forearm free flap phalloplasty
- willing to comply with all aspects of treatment as well as the study evaluation schedule
Exclusion Criteria:
- a known allergy to the study drug
- a hematocrit of 54% or higher
- a history of venous thromboembolism (VTE), peripheral phlebitis, stroke, or myocardial infarction within the last 6 months.
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Treatment
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: Double
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
---|---|
No Intervention: Control (No Intervention)
For the control groups, epineural repair will be undertaken in the standard end-to-end fashion using interrupted nylon suture after irrigation of the wound with normal saline as deemed necessary by the operating surgeon.
|
|
Experimental: Experimental
For the experimental group, after obtaining hemostasis, prior to neurorrhaphy, the operative field will be irrigated with calcium-free Plasmalyte A® (Baxter: Deerfield, IL) throughout the neurorrhaphy.
At this point, the nerves will be repaired using standard suture neurorrhaphy techniques.
Subsequently, approximately 1 or 2 drops of 5mg/ml (0.5%) methylene blue in sterile water solution are applied to the trimmed nerve endings.
Then, approximately 2 ccs of a 190 mM solution of 50% PEG 3.35 kD in sterile water will be irrigated onto the neurorrhaphy site and the surgeon will wait one minute prior to continuing.
Following this, the repaired nerve will be irrigated with calcium-containing Lactated Ringers (Hospira; Lake Forest, IL).
|
Topical irrigation with approximately 2 ccs of a 190 mM solution of 50% PEG 3.35 kD in sterile water
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Medical Research Council Classification (MRCC)
Time Frame: 15 months
|
measures sensory recovery
|
15 months
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Sexual Functioning and Sensation Questionnaire
Time Frame: 15 months
|
measures sexual function and subjective/erogenous sensation
|
15 months
|
Vanderbilt Mini-PROM for Gender-Affirming Surgery(VMP-G)
Time Frame: 15 months
|
This questionnaire measures psychosocial well-being and resolution of gender-dysphoria
|
15 months
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Wesley Thayer, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Primary Completion (Estimated)
Study Completion (Estimated)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Keywords
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- 221616
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.
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