The effects of donor age and strain rate on the biomechanical properties of bone-patellar tendon-bone allografts

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Blevins, Field T.¹; Hecker, Aaron T.¹; Bigler, Gregory T.¹; Boland, Arthur L.¹; Hayes, Wilson C.¹

The effects of donor age and strain rate on the biomechanical properties of bone-patellar tendon-bone allografts

Am J Sports Med. 1994;22(3):328-333

Affiliations

¹Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory, Charles A. Dana Research Institute, Beth Israel Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Abstract

Over 50% of all knee injuries involve partial or com plete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. Surgical reconstruction of this ligament using an isometrically placed bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft is the cur rent technique of choice; however, harvest of patellar tendon as a free graft can lead to increased morbidity. To address this issue, allogenic patellar tendon grafts have been introduced as alternatives to autogenic graft material. The purpose of this study was to exam ine effects of age and strain rate on tensile strength, modulus, and failure mode of bone-patellar tendon- bone allografts from a typical population of tissue do nors. Eighty-two, fresh-frozen, bone-patellar tendon- bone allografts were harvested from 25 different donors, aged 17 to 54. Paired grafts from individual patellar tendons were assigned randomly to tensile testing at either 10% or 100% elongation per second. Tensile strength, modulus, and failure mode were not significantly different for tests conducted at these 2 strain rates. Correlations between tensile strength and age were not significant for tests conducted at either strain rate. Specimens tested at a strain rate of 100% per second exhibited weak but significant negative correlation between modulus and age, with modulus decreasing 25% over the age range examined.
Links

DOI: 10.1177/036354659402200306

PubMed: 8037272

WoS: A1994NM32200007

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Cited By (22)

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1995	Flahiff CM, Brooks AT, Hollis JM, Vander Schilden JL, Nicholas RW. Biomechanical analysis of patellar tendon allografts as a function of donor age. Am J Sports Med. May–June 1995;23(3):354-358.
1999	Stäubli HU, Schatzmann L, Brunner P, Rincón L, Nolte L-P. Mechanical tensile properties of the quadriceps tendon and patellar ligament in young adults. Am J Sports Med. 1999;27(1):27-34.
1997	Haut TL, Haut RC. The state of tissue hydration determines the strain-rate-sensitive stiffness of human patellar tendon. J Biomech. January 1997;30(1):79-81.
2023	Kneifel P, Moewis P, Damm P, Schütz P, Dymke J, Taylor WR, Duda GN, Trepczynski A. Patellar tendon elastic properties derived from in vivo loading and kinematics. J Biomech. April 2023;151:111549.
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1997	Lewis G, Shaw KM. Tensile properties of human tendo achillis: effect of donor age and strain rate. J Foot Ankle Surg. 1997;36(6):435-445.
2022	Castile RM, Cannon PC, Smith MV, Brophy RH, Lake SP. Donor age and sex have limited effects on the mechanical and microstructural properties of human connective tissues. J Orthop Res. August 2022;40(8):1844-1852.
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