title: Spinal cord monitoring during surgery by direct recording of somatosensory evoked potentials. Technical note.
abstract: A simple method of spinal cord monitoring that can be readily used during surgery for spinal disorders in children or adults is described. A spinal subdural recording electrode is placed rostral to the site of surgery and the peroneal nerve is stimulated in the popliteal fossa; in this way, large-amplitude polyphasic spinal somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP's) can be directly recorded. The large amplitude of the spinal SEP's recorded intrathecally facilitates spinal cord monitoring by allowing: 1) rapid acquisition of the evoked response, which provides continuous monitoring during surgery; 2) relatively easy interpretation of the signal, there being no significant ultrashort- or long-latency components to the waveform; and 3) signal acquisition in an electrical environment that would be unacceptable using standard methods of spinal and cortical SEP recording.
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D008588:Meningocele / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000503:physiopathology; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*