ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Is decreased tissue elasticity more important than histopathological changes in ruptures of ascending aortic aneurysms?
Ayşegül Durmaz1, Oğuz Omay1, Zeki Talas1, Burak Açar2, Abdulkadir Cengiz3, İbrahim Mutlu4, Ahmet Tuğrul Eruyar5, Umay Kiraz5
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli, Türkiye
2Department of Cardiology, Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli, Türkiye
3Department ofAutomotive Engineering, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Türkiye
4Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Türkiye
5Department of Pathology, Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli, Türkiye
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2023.23918
Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate the natural properties of ascending aortic aneurysms and to compare dilated aortic tissues of patients with ascending aortic aneurysms and the non-pathological aortic tissues of cadavers.

Methods: Between January 2017 and January 2020, a total of 14 patients (12 males, 2 females; mean age: 66.6±8.4 years; range, 54 to 77 years) who underwent elective ascending aortic surgery without genetic disease or family history in the etiology were included in the study. Aortic tissues taken from the patients with ascending aortic aneurysms and cadavers without any aortic pathology were compared histopathologically and biomechanically. An experienced pathologist performed a histological evaluation with appropriate staining and scoring. In the biomechanical examination, stress-strain curves were created with the uniaxial tensile test. The instantaneous elastic modulus was calculated based on the first regions of the curves (Ei) and the slopes of the linear region close to rupturing (Es).

Results: In the pathological examination, there was no statistically significant difference in the parameters of both the patient and control groups (p>0.05). In the biomechanical examination, Ei values were significantly higher in the patients with ascending aortic aneurysms, while Es values were comparable between the groups (p=0.028 and p=0.609, respectively).

Conclusion: Our study results showed that the tissues of the ascending aortic aneurysm were much more rigid, although no significant histopathological changes were detected. These findings are meaningful in understanding the structure of normal and pathological aortic tissue.

Keywords : Aortic aneurysm, biomechanics, elastic modulus, pathology
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