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Original Articles: Adult Cardiac

A Comparison of Mechanical Properties of Materials Used in Aortic Arch Reconstruction

^a Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
^b Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
^c Department of Pathology, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
^d Department of Pathology, Toronto General Hospital/University Health Network, Toronto
^e Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Accepted for publication July 15, 2009.

^_* Address correspondence to Dr Leask, Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Wong Building, Room 4120, 3610 University St, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2B2, Canada (Email: richard.leask{at}mcgill.ca).

Background: Differences in the mechanical properties of aortic tissues and replacement materials can have unwanted hemodynamic effects leading to graft failure. The aim of this experimental study was to compare the mechanical properties of different graft-patch materials used in aortic arch reconstruction with those of healthy and dilated human ascending aortas (AAs).

Methods: Four square samples were taken from 30 healthy (n = 120) and 14 dilated (n = 56) AA rings and from 34 human pericardial sections (fresh [n = 68] and Carpentiers solution fixed [n = 68]). In addition, square samples from commercial bovine pericardium (n = 14) were also compared with woven Dacron grafts (n = 24) and tested biaxially. Stress-strain curves (0% to 30%) were generated using a biaxial tensile tester to quantify the anisotropic properties and stiffness of the materials at 37°C.

Results: We found significant differences in stiffness and anisotropy among all material types. Fresh and fixed human pericardia, bovine pericardium, and Dacron were 9.5, 7.1, 16.4, and 18.4 times stiffer than dilated AAs, which was 1.3 times stiffer than healthy AAs under physiologic stretch. Only dilated and healthy AAs showed an increase in anisotropic properties with increasing strain.

Conclusions: The significant differences in the mechanical properties among all materials we found are intended to increase the awareness of these differences in materials used in aortic reconstruction surgery. This finding suggests that improvements are needed in prosthetic material design to better mimic native tissue.