A patient was diagnosed with infective endocarditis caused by Candida parapsilosis, which further led to inflammation of the right hepatic artery and the formation of pseudoaneurysm, accompanied by intracrania… Read More
Month: November 2025
Symptomatic pericardial cyst with a mass effect on the right heart
Pericardial cysts comprise 6–7% of mediastinal masses. On average, they have a diameter of 5.4 cm and are rarely symptomatic. It is even more rare for pericardial cysts to be greater than 10 cm in diameter, wh… Read More
Aortic atresia, interrupted hypoplastic right aortic arch, single ventricle and bilateral arterial duct – a unique anatomy with surgical palliation
Aortic atresia with interrupted aortic arch is usually incompatible with life. The survival of a newborn is only possible with a coexistence of the other cardiovascular defects.
Inadvertent insertion of a subclavian central venous catheter into the pulmonary artery through a Blalock-Taussig shunt: a rare complication of a common procedure
Central venous catheter (CVC) insertion is a common procedure providing direct access to the central venous system. Potential mechanical, infectious, and embolic complications could occur. Malpositioning into … Read More
Comparative analysis of biomechanical properties of grafts and intact tunica albuginea in experiment
Urologiia. 2025 Sep;(4):5-13.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Existing treatment methods for Peyronies Disease (PD) aim to restore the normal biomechanical functions of the tunica albuginea (TA); however, current data on biomechanical changes in PD, as well as on the biomechanical properties of native human TA, are extremely limited. The aim of our study was to evaluate the biomechanical properties of intact TA and the materials most commonly used for its replacement.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples of the TA were collected from 9 male cadavers aged 20 to 65 years. Rectangular sections of the TA were excised from the dorsal surface of the corpora cavernosa. Fixation of the specimens in formalin was not performed, as this could affect the biomechanical properties of the tissue. Prepared samples were divided into longitudinal and transverse fragments. Pericardial grafts (allograft from cadaveric pericardium; xenograft from bovine pericardium) were prepared similarly. The obtained tissue fragments were subjected to mechanical testing. All tensile tests were conducted using a single-column universal material testing machine, the TA.XTplus Texture Analyzer (Stable Micro Systems Ltd., UK). Interactive stress-strain curves were used for result analysis. The following parameters were determined: stress, strength, strain, sample thickness. The obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis.
RESULTS: Analysis of the obtained data revealed that the stress and strength of longitudinal fragments of TA were statistically significantly higher (p=0,0004 and p=0,0008; Tukeys test) than those for the transverse fragments. This indicates that human TA is anisotropic. Correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between the patient age and the strength (r=-0,49; p<0,05; Spearmans rank correlation). Additionally, a negative correlation was found between the patients age and the thickness of their tunica albuginea (r=-0,56; p<0,05 according to Spearmans test). When comparing human TA with grafts from bovine and human pericardium, it was found that the strength and thickness calculated for human tunica albuginea were statistically significantly higher (p=0,0001; Tukeys test) than those for the grafts.
CONCLUSIONS: Human and bovine pericardium grafts significantly differ from healthy TA in terms of stress, elastic modulus, strength, and thickness, which may impact the outcomes of surgical treatment for patients with PD.
PMID:40937789