Intraoperative awakening to monitor spinal cord function during Harrington instrumentation and spine fusion. Description of procedure and report of three cases.
Since Vauzelle and associates first reported in 1973 on the functional monitoring of spinal cord activity during surgery on the spine, we have used intraoperative awakening routinely in patients undergoing surgery involving distraction of the spinal column. Of the 166 consecutive patients studied, three were discovered to have a neural deficiency when they were awakened during surgery. These deficits disappeared immediately on release of the distracting force. Although it is unlikely that all three patients would have proceeded to paraplegia, we believe that this is a safe and sensitive test which will identify patients in danger of neural complications.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004434:Early Ambulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D009984:Orthopedic Fixation Devices; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000601:surgery; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013123:Spinal Fusion