Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2025 May;49(5):1199-1210.
doi: 10.1007/s00264-025-06474-8. Epub 2025 Mar 1.

Safety and efficacy of ultrasonic bone scalpel compared with a high-speed drill in spinal surgery: our experience in sixty cases

Utku Özgen  1 , Ahmet Tulgar Başak  2 , Mehdi Hekimoğlu  2 , Mehmet Osman Akçakaya  3 , Tunç Öktenoğlu  2 , Ali Fahir Özer  2 , Talat Kırış  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Safety and efficacy of ultrasonic bone scalpel compared with a high-speed drill in spinal surgery: our experience in sixty cases

Utku Özgen et al. Int Orthop. 2025 May.

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of UBS (Ultrasonic Bone Scalpel) and HSD (High-speed drill) for performing anterior or posterior decompressions in patients with pathologies in cervical and lumbar regions.

Methods: Between October 2022 and June 2024, 60 patients underwent surgery in which a UBS (Sonopet UST-2001; Stryker Neuro Spine ENT, MI, USA) and High-speed Midas Rex MR8 (Medtronic, Fort Worth, TX, USA) drill was used. Informed consent was obtained from all patients. The study included 27 men and 33 women with a mean age of 59,5 ± 14.6 years (range: 28-85). The following patient data were recorded: preoperative and postoperative JOA scores, intraoperative blood loss, and operative time for decompression in lumbar and cervical region.

Results: In UBS group, the mean intraoperative blood loss was 166.0 ± 64.3 ml. The mean preoperative and postoperative JOA scores were 4.5 ± 1.0 and 8.6 ± 1.8 and the mean postoperative follow-up duration was 6.1 ± 4.4 months in UBS group. The mean intraoperative blood loss was 221.2 ± 93.4 ml in HSD group. The mean preoperative and postoperative JOA scores were 5.2 ± 1.1 and 8.2 ± 1.2 in HSD group. In the HSD group, the blood loss (BL) value was significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared to the UBS group. The preoperative/postoperative JOA score improvement in the UBS group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in the HSD group.

Conclusions: The UBS can be safely used in spinal surgery. It reduces intraoperative blood loss and provide better clinical improvement. Authors would like to emphasize that the UBS resects the bone with oscillatory movements rather than rolling motions and this mechanism of action is important in reducing the risk of dura mater injury.

Keywords: Dural tear; High-speed drill; Laminectomy; Thermal injury; Ultrasonic bone scalpel.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Human ethics: This study is a retrospective and observational study and there is no experimental purpose or data so only informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study. Not applicable. Consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent to publish: This manuscript does not contain any individual person’s data in any form.

References

    1. Henzi S, Krayenbühl N, Bozinov O, Regli L, Stienen MN (2019) Ultrasonic aspiration in neurosurgery: comparative analysis of complications and outcome for three commonly used models. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 161:2073–2082. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-019-04021-0 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tang H, Zhang H, Xie Q, Gong Y, Zheng M, Wang D, Zhu H, Chen X, Zhou L (2014) Application of CUSA excel ultrasonic aspiration system in resection of skull base meningiomas. Chin J Cancer Res 26:653–657. https://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.1000-9604.2014.12.10 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Cho RI, Choe CH, Elner VM (2010) Ultrasonic bone removal versus high-speed burring for lateral orbital decompression: comparison of surgical outcomes for the treatment of thyroid eye disease. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg 26:83–87. https://doi.org/10.1097/IOP.0b013e3181b8e614 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kutin MA, Kadashev BA, Kalinin PL, Fomichev DV, Sharipov OI, Andreev DN, Cherekaev VA, Lasunin NV, Galkin MV, Serova NK et al (2020) [Transcranial microsurgical decompression of the optic Canal in surgical treatment of meningiomas of the Sellar region]. Zh Vopr Neirokhir Im N N Burdenko 84:61–73. https://doi.org/10.17116/neiro20208403161 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gean AD, Pile-Spellman J, Heros RC (1989) A pneumatized anterior clinoid mimicking an aneurysm on MR imaging. Report of two cases. J Neurosurg 71:128–132. https://doi.org/10.3171/jns.1989.71.1.0128 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources