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by Dr Kirsten Hailstone, Adelaide Animal Emergency & Referral Centre, SA
This is a piezoelectric surgical unit for cutting bone. Electricity generates a vibration in the surgical tip that allows you to cut without damaging soft tissues.
What’s good about it
We use it for bone surgery, particularly in difficult areas such as removing a temporo-mandibular joint, performing a mandibulectomy or a maxillectomy.
The instrument is very good at cutting hard tissue without damaging the surrounding soft tissues.
A good example is where a tumor extends into the mandibular canal and you’re resecting part of the jaw. It’s important not to damage the neurovascular bundle while partially resecting the jaw. The situation is the same in areas where the nerves and blood vessels are intimately associated with the bone you are resecting.
The Piezotome Cube eliminates those problems by cutting through the bone with an oscillating motion that won’t cut soft tissues. The tip vibrates and gives very precise and accurate control. It’s of great benefit when there’s a limited operating field and surrounding tissues need to be preserved.
When something’s gone wrong in the eruption process and a tooth is buried in the jaw, this unit is very helpful. Often a bone window is needed to take out the tooth and that might only leave a millimetre of solid bone at the bottom of the jaw. The precision of the Piezotome is excellent. There’s minimal bone loss and it offers extremely controlled cutting.
For difficult oral and maxillofacial surgeries, the Piezotome is an amazing piece of machinery.
What’s not so good
There’s definitely a learning curve. You need to use it in a slow, precise manner until you master its cutting action.
