BACKGROUND: Independent urination and defection functions do not exist in patients with paraplegia above T12 because the injury disrupts the connection to the brain.OBJECTIVE: To reconstruct urination and defecation functions in patients with paraplegia with vascularized intercostal nerve transfer to sacral nerve roots with selected interfascicular anastomosis.DESIGN: Self-control observation.SETFING: Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital of the Second Military Medical University of Chinese PLA.PARTICIPANTS: We recruited 30 patients with traumatic paraplegia at T9-L2 who received treatment in the Department of Orthopedics,Changhai Hospital of the Second Military Medical University of Chinese PLA, from January 1990 to December 2000. Paraplegia plane at T9-T11was found in 17 cases and paraplegia plane at T12-L2 in 13 cases. All the cases had undergone vertebral lamina decompression and internal fixation, 24 of whom had an additional operation to remove the internal fixation.METHODS: Two normal vascularized intercoastal nerves and artery and vein (intercostals nerves were generally at ribs 7 and 8 or 9 and10)above the spinal cord injury site were harvested by cutting in at their distal ends at the midclavicular line and separating the proximal ends from the levatores costarum. The nerves were then transferred to the vertebral canal through a submuscular tunnel. A sural nerve segment that had been harvested and sheared into two segments was sutured to the intercostal nerves by epiperineurial neurorrhaphy and then to the S2-4nerve roots by interfascicular neurorrhaphy. For patients with spinal injury plane below T11, intercostal nerve or subcostal nerve among the 10th and 11th ribs were harvested from the incision of abnormal wall. The nerves were transferred to the lumbar part through the channel of lateral abdominal wall. The transplanted sural nerve was conrected to S2-4 nerve root of partial nerve tract cut alternatively and exposed from S1,2 plane posterior. Defecation function of the patients was evaluated at postoperative 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months and follow-up; urodynamic examination was performed before and after operation.patients.RESULTS: A total of 30 patients were followed up for 5 years on average,tion and defecation functions of the patients: 26 (86.6%) had recovered defecation and urination sensation, 23 (76.7%)regained the micturition reflex and uriesthesis; 19 (63%) had recovered function of the detrusor The postoperative maximum urine flow ratio, surplus urine volume, and the maximum systolic pressure of detrusor muscle were obviously improved as compared with those before operation [(12.0±3.0) vs (2.0±0.3) mL/s,(80±12) vs (150±30) mL, (11.76±3.43) vs (5.88±1.47) kPa, P ＜ 0.05]. Postoperative low compliance was found in 9 cases, and detrusor areflexia in 7cases. The number was both significantly decreased as compared with that of preoperative cases (26 and 27 respectively).CONCLUSION: Transfer of vascularized intercostal nerve to S2-4 nerve roots with selected interfascicular anastomosis can reconstruct partial urination and defecation functions, and sensation in buttock, perineal region and cunnus region in paraplegia.