The Neurodiagnostic journal
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Case Reports
Detection of Position-Related Sciatic Nerve Dysfunction by Somatosensory Evoked Potentials During Spinal Surgery.
It is well established that intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) are sensitive to plexus and peripheral nerve dysfunction related to malpositioning of patients during spinal surgery. While most reports focus on upper extremity nerve or brachial plexus effects, there is very little on detection of sciatic nerve compromise. Recording of the SSEP at the popliteal fossa is a common strategy to aid in troubleshooting stimulus-related problems or distal peripheral tibial nerve failure; yet position-related sciatic nerve effects may not be realized by changes in the popliteal fossa response. ⋯ Two of the three cases involved patients in a kneeling position with a tight strap across the posterior thigh. Standard SSEP recordings used in intraoperative neuromonitoring do not specifically localize intraoperative changes to the sciatic nerve; thus, such changes affecting SSEPs above the popliteal fossa mimic iatrogenic changes occurring at the surgical site. These case reports show that when the stage of surgery does not support iatrogenic changes, malpositioning affecting sciatic nerve should be considered, especially for patients placed in a kneeling position on an Andrews frame.
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Detecting potential intraoperative injuries to the femoral nerve should be the main goal of neuromonitoring of lateral lumber interbody fusion (LLIF) procedures. We propose a theory and technique to utilize motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to protect the femoral nerve (a peripheral nerve), which is at risk in LLIF procedures. MEPs have been advocated and widely used for monitoring spinal cord function during surgical correction of spinal deformity and surgery of the cervical and thoracic spine, but have had limited acceptance for use in lumbar procedures. ⋯ Insult to the fully formed femoral nerve, which completely blocks conduction in motor axons, should theoretically abolish all MEP responses to the quadriceps muscles. On multiple occasions over the past year, our neuro-monitoring groups have observed significantly degraded amplitudes of the femoral motor and/or sensory evoked potentials limited to only the surgical side. Most of these degraded response amplitudes rapidly returned to baseline values with a surgical intervention (i.e., prompt removal of surgical retraction).
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Pedicle screw placement has a high risk of damaging the motor and sensory pathways due to the close proximity to the spinal cord and nerve roots. Early detection and prevention of injury can be achieved by utilizing Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SSEP) and Transcranial electrical Motor Evoked Potentials (TCeMEP) during a scoliosis surgery. A 19-year-old female presented for correction of scoliosis. ⋯ Significant changes were seen in TCeMEP, without any change in SSEP. We highly recommend utilizing continuous TCeMEP and SSEP monitoring during pedicle screw placement for prevention of injury to the spinal cord. In this case, the patient would have been paralyzed post-operatively without the use of IONM.
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Embolization of a spinal cord arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is considered a high-risk procedure due to the potential risk of spinal cord injury. We present two cases illustrating the benefits of utilizing pharmacologic provocative testing under general anesthesia with continuous neurophysiologic monitoring of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and transcranial electrical motor evoked potentials (TCeMEPs) to identify the functional territory of the catheterized vessels prior to embolization. ⋯ Multimodality IONM with continuous SSEP, TCeMEP, and EMG monitoring was utilized effectively during provocative testing with lidocaine and propofol. IONM helped in predicting and preventing post-operative neurological deficits due to ischemia to the spinal cord.