title: Somatosensory evoked potential. Monitoring during spinal surgery.
abstract: Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) have been used to help minimize neurologic morbidity during spinal surgery. While this is a sensory test it has been used as an inference of motor function. The failure to always achieve the latter goal has resulted in some pessimism regarding the value of this test. In this series of 161 operations in 150 patients, it was demonstrated that SSEPs were recordable under anesthesia in 87% of patients. Of these patients, 12% had their spinal surgery interrupted due to significant neurophysiologic changes; of these patients, 18% had new neurologic deficits postoperatively. There were no cases with new neurologic deficits who had no changes in their SSEPs. It was concluded that SSEP monitoring may be helpful in identifying potentially neurologically threatening surgical maneuvers in a significant number of patients.
authors: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors: M T
authors: MT
authors: Stechison
authors: S G
authors: SG
authors: Panagis
authors: S S
authors: SS
authors: Reinhart
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology