The diamond burr is used in spinal and cranial neurosurgery to remove bone. In contrast to the rose burr, it generates more heat, making continuous irrigation necessary during the drilling process1. The diamond burr enables fine, gentle work, allowing critical structures such as the dura mater to be better preserved. However, heat generation can also cause damage to critical structures; for example, damage to the optic nerve due to heat generation has been reported2.
References
Kondo, Soichiro, et al. "Thermological study of drilling bone tissue with a high-speed drill." Neurosurgery 46.5 (2000): 1162-1168. ↩ ↩
Le Shaw, My, et al. "Collateral damage: heat transfer as a possible mechanism of optic nerve injury during neurosurgical intervention." Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery 28.5 (2012): 328-330. ↩ ↩