BackgroundPiezosurgery is an osteotomy system used in medical and dental surgery. Many
studies have proven clinical advantages of piezosurgery in terms of quality of
cut, maneuverability, ease of use, and safety. However, few investigations have
tested its superiority over the traditional osteotomy systems in terms of dynamics
of bone healing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of
bone healing after osteotomies with piezosurgery and to compare them with those
associated to traditional bone drilling.MethodsOne hundred and ten rats were divided into two groups with 55 animals each. The
animals were anesthetized and the tibiae were surgically exposed to create defects
2 mm in diameter by using piezosurgery (Piezo group) and conventional
drilling (Drill group). Animals were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days
post-surgery. Bone samples were collected and processed for histological,
histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis. The histological
analysis was performed at all time points (n = 8) whereas the
histomorphometrical analysis was performed at 7, 14, 30 and 60 days
post-surgery (n = 8). The immunolabeling was performed to detect
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Caspase-3 (CAS-3), Osteoprotegerin
(OPG), Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor kappa-B Ligand (RANKL), and
Osteocalcin (OC) at 3, 7, and 14 days (n = 3). For the molecular
analysis, animals were sacrificed at 3, 7 and 14 days, total RNA was
collected, and quantification of the expression of 21 genes related to BMP
signaling, Wnt signaling, inflammation, osteogenenic and apoptotic pathways was
performed by qRT-PCR (n = 5).ResultsHistologically and histomorphometrically, bone healing was similar in both groups
with the exception of a slightly higher amount of newly formed bone observed at
30 days after piezosurgery (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemical and
qRT-PCR analyses didn’t detect significant differences in expression of all
the proteins and most of the genes tested.ConclusionsBased on the results of our study we conclude that in a rat tibial bone defect
model the bone healing dynamics after piezosurgery are comparable to those
observed with conventional drilling.