Injury
-
Calvarial critical-size defects in rats are used to study regeneration of both craniofacial bone and long-bones. For decades, the trephine technique has been used with no notable refinements in the procedure. The use of piezoelectric surgical equipment has increased in human clinical oral and maxillofacial surgery, neurosurgery, traumatology, and orthopedics, because the devices are easy to handle, and can cut bone without damaging sensitive soft tissues such as blood vessels, nerves, and membranes. ⋯ Although the extent of new bone formation was similar between the two surgical groups, the piezoelectric technique resulted in 50% less variability. No additional new bone formation was observed from 45 to 75d in both techniques. Piezoelectric technique represents a refined and more reproducible technique for calvarial defect generation in comparison to classic trephine methods.