Pleomorphic adenoma of the palate: a case report and review of the literature.

Salivary gland tumors are rare and account for 2-3% of tumors occurring in the head and neck. Pleomorphic adenoma is a benign neoplasm which is commonly encountered in the parotid gland and other major salivary glands. At times they can also develop in minor salivary glands of the palate. The majority of minor salivary gland tumors are malignant. This case report describes a case of mixed tumor in a minor salivary gland of the hard palate.

The use of piezosurgery as an alternative method of minimally invasive surgery in the authors' experience.

Piezosurgery is a relatively new technique of bone surgery that is recently gaining popularity in implantology, periodontics and oral surgery. The piezosurgery device produces specific ultrasound frequency modulation (22 000-35 000 Hz). The unit provides extreme precision and safety as well as micrometric cutting, thus allowing one to selectively section the mineralized bone structures. Moreover, the device causes less bleeding during and after the operation and the healing process is shorter. Due to the aforementioned advantages, an ultrasound device could be utilized in a wide range of surgical procedures, e.g. impacted tooth extraction, elevation of the Schneiderian membrane, bone splitting or expansion of the ridge, preparing bone bed and bone sampling, and corticotomy, not to menton cystectomy.