Handling and Associated Material Properties of Porcine and Human Acellular Dermal Matrices

Background: Pliability, handling, and drape characteristics are important material properties of acellular dermal matrices (ADMs). There are few in vitro techniques that quantitatively assess these characteristics. Objectives: The aim of the authors of this study is to compare data generated using a novel drape assay with surgeon handling of porcine-derived ADMs and evaluate material properties of human- and porcine-derived ADMs. Methods: Three commercially available ADMs (human-derived AlloDerm [hADM], porcine-derived Strattice Pliable [pADM-S], and porcine-derived Artia [pADM-A]) were assessed. Eight prototype variations of pADM with varied mechanical properties were used for the handling assessment. Drape testing was conducted using a novel mechanical test fixture coupled with quantitative image analysis. Surgeon handling assessments of prototype pADM pliability were compared with quantitative drape measurements to establish a correlation. Commercially available ADMs were tensile tested mechanically at clinically relevant and higher loads to determine maximum strength. Results: = .000). Tensile testing demonstrated that hADM had the greatest degree of strain/elongation across all applied loads, followed by pADM-A, then pADM-S. When tested to failure, hADM had the greatest average maximum stress compared with pADM-A and pADM-S. Conclusions: The novel drape assay introduced here correlated with surgeon handling assessment of ADM pliability. Material testing and handling assessment demonstrated various mechanical properties (ie, strength, strain/elongation, drapability, and handling/pliability) for the ADMs evaluated, providing several unique options that may meet different surgical mechanical needs.