William M. Kuzon, M.D., Ph.D. | Institute of Gerontology

Research Associate Professor, IoG
Professor of Surgery, Associate Chair,
Plastic Surgery Section Head
Department of Surgery
Medical School

2130 Taubman Center
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0340
Tel: (734) 936-5890
Fax: (734) 763-5354
Email: wkuzon@umich.edu

The focus of Dr. Kuzon's research is aimed at improving the surgical reconstruction of deformities resulting from abnormalities of muscle and peripheral nerve function. We are pursuing studies to determine mechanisms responsible for the mechanical dysfunction observed in skeletal muscle as a result of congenital anomalies, denervation/reinnervation, direct muscle injury, surgical manipulation, and concommitant to aging, as well as continuing our ongoing work in the area of tissue engineering. Among others, current projects in our group focus on:

- Changes in the dynamic and static properties of abdominal muscles after ventral herniation in young and old animals.
- Single muscle fiber mechanical properties in skeletal muscles after denervation or microneurovascular transfer.
- Apoptosis in satellite cells after denervation, stretch-induced injury, or aging.
- The use of acellular scaffolds as a platform for skeletal muscle, peripheral nerve, and blood vessel tissue engineering.
- The use of acellular constructs for ventral hernia repair.

Collaborators in these studies include John Faulkner, Robert Dennis, Michael Franz, David Brown, Paul Cederna, Susan Brooks, Jack van der Meullen, Melanie Urbanchek, and Dennis Claflin.

Web Site Links:

Recent Publications:

1. Larkin, L., Kuzon, W., Halter, J., Effect of age on reinnervation following nerve-repair grafting of medial gastrocnemius muscles of F344 rats. Mechanism of Ageing and Development. 124:653-61, 2003.

2. Haase, S. Rovak, J., Dennis, R., Kuzon, W., Cederna, P., Recovery of muscle contractile function following nerve gap repair with chemically acellularized peripheral nerve grafts. Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery. 19:4, 241-248, 2003.

3. Jejurikar, S., Kuzon, W., Satellite cell depletion in degenerative skeletal muscle. Apoptosis. 8:573-578, 2003.

4. Borschel, G.H., Kuzon, W.M., Kia, K.F., Dennis, R.G. Mechanical properties of acellular peripheral nerve. Journal of Surgical Research 114, 133-139, 2003.

5. van der Muelen, J., Urbanchek, M., Cederna, P., Eguchi, T., Kuzon, W. Denervated muscle fibers explain the deficit in specific force after denervation and reinnervation of the rat EDL muscle. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 112(5):1336-46, 2003.

6. Borschel, G.H., Dennis, R.G., Kuzon, Contractile skeletal muscle tissue-engineered on an acellular scaffold. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 113(2):595-602, 2004.

7. Kuzon, W.M., Aydin, M., Green, H., Rosenblatt, J.D., Pynn, B., Plyley, M., McKee, N. Metabolic characteristics of experimental free, vascularized canine gracilis muscle transfers. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 113(3):932-41, 2004.

8. Aydin, M. Asim, Mackinnon, S., Gu, X., Kobayashi, J., Kuzon, W. Force deficits in skeletal muscle after delayed reinnervation. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 113:1712-1718, 2004.

9. Urbanchek MG, van der Meulen JH, Cederna PS, Eguchi T, Kuzon Jr., WM Muscle transfer force deficit is partially explained by a denervated muscle fiber population. Basic and Applied Myology. 14(3):179-189, 2004.

10. Aydin, M.A., Urbanchek, M.G., Kuzon, W. Improved early muscle recover using FK506 in a rat nerve repair model. Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery. 20(2):183-92, 2004.

11. Urbanchek MG, Ganz DE, Aydin MA, van der Meulen JH, Kuzon, Jr WM. Muscle-Nerve-Muscle neurotization for the reinnervation of denervated somatic muscle. Neurological Research 26(4):388-394, 2004.

12. Johns MM, Urbanchek M, Chepeha DB, Kuzon WM, Hogikyan, ND. Length-tension relationship of the feline thyroarytenoid muscle. Journal of Voice. 18:285-291, 2004.