Costal Cartilage Calcification: Prevalence, Amount, and Structural Pattern in the General Population and Its Association with Age: A Cadaveric Study.

Costal cartilage calcification (CCC) of the cartilage graft, commonly used in reconstruction of nasal/auricular deformities, can cause poor surgical outcome, but structural and quantitative analyses are lacking. To compare the prevalence, amount, and structural pattern of CCC from individuals by gender and age, as measured by digital contact radiography. This is a cross-sectional cadaveric study ( = 92) of the seventh rib cartilage. CCC prevalence/amount/structural pattern (central [c]/peripheral [p]/diffuse [d]) was analyzed within three age groups: I (<40 years), II (40-70 years), and III (>70 years). Qualitative and quantitative CCC analyses were set in relation to gender/structural pattern/age. CCC prevalence was gender independent (96.7%) and occurred in c/p/d: 12.4%/22.4%/65.2%. Structural CCC pattern differed between age groups (I: 80%; c/p/d: 26.7%/46.6%/6.7%; II: 100%; c/p/d: 18.0%/30.8%/51.2%; III: 100%; p/d: 2.6%/97.4%). The mean CCC amount (9.1%) was gender independent and showed a significant correlation with age ( = 0.001). The mean amount showed a significant difference between the structural pattern [d/p: 3.3 times higher ( = 0.006), d/c: 7.7 times higher ( < 0.001)] and age groups (I/II/III: 6.4/8.5%/10.9%), whereby the amount was higher in groups II (factor: 7.4;  < 0.001) and III (factor: 16.5;  < 0.001) compared with group I. These data show an age-/gender-independent high CCC prevalence in the general population (96.7%). CCC already occurred in young donors (<40 years) with a not negligible amount (6.4%). CCC increased with age and structural analysis showed a gender-/age-specific pattern, whereby males were prone to peripheral/females to central CCC. Diffuse CCC was observed as an age-independent sign for high CCC levels.