Age and gender related changes in biomechanical properties of healthy human costal cartilage.
OBJECTIVE
For repairing the ear malformation, it is recommended in China to use the over than 10-years-old rib cartilage. However, according to our clinical experience, a better post-operation effect can be found using about the 7-years-old cartilage for the operation. To shape a harvested costal cartilage and to perform it on the transplant site depend on the mechanical properties of the costal cartilage. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the age and gender-related biomechanical properties of the human costal cartilage.


METHODS
Human costal cartilages were harvested from 25 female and 45 male donors of 5-25 years old after auricular reconstructive surgery. The specimens were divided into six groups: children (5-10 years), adolescent (11-17 years) and adult (18-25 years), respectively, in males and females. Tensile strength, stress-strain relationship, stress relaxation and creep were tested by using a material testing machine.


RESULTS
The biomechanical properties of costal cartilage are donor age and gender related. The children group has the highest tensile strengths (P<0.01) in both male and female groups. The male group relaxed and crept more than that of the female group in all three age groups (P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide a further support for the potential age acting on the human costal cartilage. The adolescent has the lowest strength, this could be a reason that compared to using the children costal cartilage, the bigger distortion happened after using the adolescent costal cartilage in the auricular reconstruction operation.
Guo
Bi-yun
BY
Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100022, PR China.
Liao
Dong-hua
DH
Li
Xiao-yang
XY
Zeng
Yan-jun
YJ
Yang
Qing-hua
QH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013718:Tensile Strength