Use of a piezoelectric surgical device to harvest bone grafts from the mandibular ramus: report of 40 cases.

Forty patients (12 men, 28 women; mean age 44.9 +/- 13.95 years) with inadequate bone volume for implant placement in either the maxilla or the mandible were scheduled for bone-grafting procedures. Bone grafts were harvested with a piezoelectric surgical device (Piezosurgery, Mectron) from 45 donor sites and grafted into recipient sites prior to implant placement. After healing of the grafted sites, 109 implants were placed. Clinical evaluations were performed to assess the size and quality of the obtained grafts, complications at the donor and recipient sites, integration of the grafts, bone quality, resorption of the grafts, and ability to properly place implants. Piezosurgery allowed precise, clean, and smooth cutting with excellent visibility. Mean graft size was 1.15 cm3 (SD 0.5), with a maximum of 2.4 cm3. The quality of the obtained grafts was mainly cortical (71%), 42 of the 45 donor sites healed uneventfully (93.33%), and 50 of the 52 grafted sites healed uneventfully (96.15%).