Alterations in the biorheological features of some soft tissues after limb lengthening

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a surgical limb lengthening procedure on the biorheological features of some lengthened soft tissues. In this procedure external fixators were applied to goats' right radius to stretch the tissues. The right forelegs of goats were lengthened by 2, 4 cm, respectively. After lengthening ceased, the goats were examined after different periods of time. The lengthened median nerves, arteries and veins were harvested and used to study their biorheological features. Tensile strength of lengthened and control specimens were measured and their stress relaxation features and stress-strain relationships were studied. Results showed that at the beginning of recovery, the stress-strain curves, relaxation curves and tensile strengths of the lengthened specimens began to deviate from those of their controls. However, with increasing recovery time, the curves and tensile strength of the lengthened specimens reverted to those of their controls. All the tissues studied exhibited the same behavior.