Table 1:

Analysis of interpositional nerve graft: insights from the existing literature

Interpositional nerve graft selection	Authors	Advantage	Disadvantage	Clinical outcome*
Sural nerve	Elbaz et al.[17] were the first to report the use of the medial cutaneous branch of the sural nerve for indirect CN. Bains et al.[42] Weis et al.[46]	Provides over 20 cm length, which expands the donor nerve options to maxillary and mandibular branches of the trigeminal nerve in CN Smaller incision and can be used for bilateral cases	Donor site morbidity associated with harvesting of the sural nerve includes Sensation loss or allodynia to the distal lower leg and dorsum of the foot	Elbaz et al. reported successful outcomes in 2/3 patients. Partial success in 1/3 patients Bainz et al. noted successful outcomes in 4/4 patients Wies et al. observed successful in 6/6 patient
Acellular nerve allograft	Leyngold et al.[8]	Commercially available nonimmunogenic scaffold guides regenerating donor nerve fibers to the insensate cornea, offering benefits of indirect CN without the added invasiveness and potential subsequent morbidity of nerve autograft harvesting This approach results in shorter operative and recovery times	Acellular nerve allografts lack viable Schwann cells crucial for supporting axon regeneration, studies have demonstrated axonal regrowth over distances of 3–4 cm only[19] Cost, risk of graft failure	Successful in 7/7 patients
Greater Auricular Nerve graft	Benkhatar et al.[20]	Minimally invasive, Shorter operative time, better end-to-end coaptation due to better size compatibility of graft	Not commonly performed, less data in the literature, only partial success reported	Partial success in 1 patient
	Jovett et al.[47]	Theoretical potential for greater sensory recovery is attributed to higher axonal count in the graft Approximately 7 cm of the GAN can be harvested Single surgical field allows to obtain the desired graft length needed to cover the interpupillary distance and a good anatomical match with the Suptratroachlear nerve, and a limited area of postoperative anesthesia to the earlobe was observed	Limited space around the patient’s head, which could increase the overall operating time	Successful in 2/2 patients
Lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve	Bourcier et al.[21]	The lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve provides sensation to one-third of the anterior and posterior forearm, and it can be readily accessed under the skin, yielding a 12-cm nerve graft. The advantages of the LACN graft include its substantial length with multiple terminal branches, aligning well with the superior orbital nerve. The temporary loss of sensation in a noncritical cutaneous region of the anterolateral forearm is mitigated by the radial sensory nerve’s co-innervation.	No data supporting the outcomes	Successful in 1/1 patient

*Success was defined as improvement in corneal sensation