title: Effects of cochlear drilling with Piezosurgery Medical device in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Drilling on the otic capsule for cochleostomy should be less traumatic to the cochlea with the Piezosurgery Medical device (PZ) than with a standard diamond drill (DD). "Soft" cochleostomy is used for preservation of residual hearing in cochlear implant patients. PZ drilling can be used for accurate cochleostomy placement with minimal soft-tissue damage and may be superior for atraumatic drilling on the cochlea, as compared with a DD. This study compared inner ear effects after drilling the rat otic capsule with the PZ versus the DD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective animal study using rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Otic capsule drilling was performed on the left ear with the DD (n = 5) or the PZ (n = 5), while otic capsule temperature was monitored. Contralateral ears served as controls. The animals were sacrificed after 1 week. Organ of Corti damage was morphologically evaluated and compared between groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Basal turn hair cell loss was observed in all ears in the PZ group, regardless of drilling depth. However, no cochlear damage was found in any ears in the DD group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Otic capsule drilling with the PZ results in greater trauma to the rat inner ear than drilling using conventional methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Dallas, Texas USA. Karen.Pawlowski@utsouthwestern.edu
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Pawlowski
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koulich
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cuda
authors.forename: Charles G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stabilini
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Roland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000601:surgery*; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D006199:Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner / Q000473:pathology; D009925:Organ of Corti / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D013506:Otologic Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery