title: Piezosurgery as a further technical adjunct in minimally invasive supraorbital keyhole approach and lateral orbitotomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  One of the problems in neurosurgery is how to perform rapid and effective craniotomies that minimize the risk of injury to underlying eloquent structures. The traditional high-powered pneumatic tools and saws are efficient in terms of speed and penetration, but they can provoke bone necrosis and sometimes damage neurovascular structures. As an alternative, we evaluated the piezoelectric bone scalpel (piezosurgery), a device that potentially allows thinner and more precise bone cutting without lesioning neighboring delicate structures, even in the case of accidental contact.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2009 to December 2011, 20 patients (8 men and 12 women), 19 to 72 years of age (mean: 49.3 years) were treated using piezosurgery. Surgery was performed for the removal of anterior cranial fossa meningiomas, orbital tumors, and sinonasal lesions with intracranial extension.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The time required to perform craniotomy using piezosurgery is a few minutes longer than with traditional drills. No damage was observed using the piezoelectric device. Follow-up clinical and neuroradiologic evaluation showed a faster and better ossification of the bone flap with good esthetic results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Piezosurgery is a new promising technique for selective bone cutting with soft tissue preservation. This instrument seems suitable to perform precise thin osteotomies while limiting damage to the bone itself and to the underlying delicate structures even in the case of unintentional contact. These advantages make the piezoelectric bone scalpel a particularly attractive instrument in neurosurgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iacoangeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Rienzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Niccolo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nocchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Head-Neck Surgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balercia
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Head-Neck Surgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lupi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Section of Neuroradiology, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Regnicolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia Giovanna Maria
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Di Somma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alvaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scerrati
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003399:Craniotomy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009915:Orbit / Q000601:surgery*; D059745:Piezosurgery / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult