title: Comparison of postoperative pain: piezoelectric device versus microdrill.
abstract: Piezosurgery® is a recently developed system for cutting bone with microvibrations. The objective of this study was to compare the severity of pain over the first 10 postoperative days in a group of 70 patients who underwent intact canal wall mastoidectomy, with the piezoelectric device, and to compare the results with traditional method by means of microdrill (70 patients). The subjective perception of pain was evaluated on a scale from 0 to 10, such that 0 represented no pain and 10 represented maximum pain; the severity was recorded as null when the score was 0; slight, when it was 1-4; moderate, when it was 5-7; or severe, when it was 8-10. Compared with microdrill, the patients that underwent surgery with the piezoelectric device showed a significant (P < 0.05) lower postoperative pain on day 1 (52 vs. 26 patients presented a slight pain, 12 vs. 37 presented a moderate pain, and 6 vs. 7 presented a severe pain) and day 3 (68 vs. 44 patients presented a slight pain, 2 vs. 23 presented a moderate pain, and 0 vs. 3 presented a severe pain). These results highlight as the piezoelectric device is a safe and minimally invasive tool.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, University of Genoa, Via dei Mille 11/9, 16147, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crippa
authors.forename: Francesco Antonio
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Salzano
authors.forename: Renzo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mora
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dellepiane
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salami
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guastini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008416:Mastoid / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013506:Otologic Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult