Resistance and stability of a new method for bonding biological materials using sutures and biological adhesives

The valve leaflets of cardiac bioprostheses are secured and shaped by sutures which, given their high degree of resistance and poor elasticity, have been implicated in the generation of stresses within the leaflets, contributing to the failure of the bioprostheses. Bioadhesives are bonding materials that have begun to be utilized in surgery, although there is a lack of experience in their use with inert tissues or bioprostheses. Tensile testing is performed until rupture in samples of calf pericardium, a biomaterial employed in the manufacture of bioprosthetic heart valve leaflets. One hundred and thirty-two trials are carried out in three types of samples: intact or control tissue (n = 12); samples transected and glued in an overlapping manner with a cyanoacrylate (n = 60); and samples transected, sewn with a commercially available suture material and reinforced at the suture holes with the same cyanoacrylate (n = 60). Seven days after their preparation, 12 samples from each group, including the controls, are subjected to tensile testing until rupture and the findings are compared. In the stability study, groups of 12 each of the remaining 48 glued and 48 sutured and glued samples underwent tensile testing until rupture on days 30, 60, 90, and 120, after their preparation. The results show that bonding with the adhesive provided a resistance ranging between 1.04 and 1.87 kg, probably insufficient for use in valve leaflets, but also afforded a high degree of elasticity. After 120 days, both the glued and the sutured and glued series show excellent elastic behavior, with no rigidity or hardening of the pericardium. These samples present reversible elongation, or strain, when they surpass their elastic limit at rupture. This finding may be due to a load concentration that is damaging to the pericardium, to the behavior of the tissue as an amorphous material, or perhaps to both circumstances. These results need to be confirmed in future studies as they may be of value in the design and manufacture of cardiac bioprostheses.