title: Piezosurgery for osteotomies in orbital surgery: Our experience and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Piezoelectric bone surgery, simply known as Piezosurgery(®), is a new promising technique for bone cutting based on ultrasonic microvibrations that allows to perform precise and thin osteotomies with soft tissue sparing.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 45-years-old woman presenting with progressive left ocular pain, diplopia on the lateral left gaze, and visible exophthalmos was admitted to our department. CT scan and MRI images documented a left supero-lateral orbital lesion. A left lateral orbitotomy using the piezoelectric scalpel was performed. The tumour (lacrimal gland lymphoma) was completely removed with no injuries to the orbital structures and with a perfect realignment of the bone stumps.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High powered pneumatic osteotome are commonly used to perform craniotomies. Large bone cutting groove and high temperatures developing at the contact site could produce an uneasy bone healing. The use of a piezoelectric scalpel allows to realize precise and thin osteotomies, facilitating craniotomy's borders ossification and avoiding injuries to non-osseous structures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Widely used in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Piezosurgery(®) can also be useful in neurosurgical approaches in order to obtain a faster bone flap re-ossification, a better aesthetic result, and a lower risks of dural layer and soft tissue damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Umberto I General Hospital, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: neurotra@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iacoangeli
authors.forename: Piergiorgio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balercia
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lupi
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Rienzo
authors.forename: Niccolò
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nocchi
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alvaro
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scerrati