Comparison of Electrophysiological Outcomes of Tethered Cord Syndrome and Spinal Intradural Tumors: A Retrospective Clinical Study.
OBJECTIVE
Electrophysiological evaluation of the outcomes of spinal procedures is important for neurosurgeons. Somatosensorial evoked potentials (SSEPs) are used for electrophysiological evaluation of tethered cord syndrome (TCS) and spinal intradural tumors (SIT). The aim of this study was to document the electrophysiological outcomes of surgery for TCS and SIT and to compare the results based on the preoperative diagnosis.


METHODS
The data of 30 patients, who were operated for TCS and SIT between 2011 and 2013, were reviewed retrospectively. Surgical release of the spinal cord was performed for TCS and tumor removal was performed for SIT. Median and tibial nerve SSEPs at the left and right sides were measured at preoperative, early and late postoperative periods and compared statistically based on the diagnosis and the time of electrophysiological assessment.


RESULTS
The diagnosis was TCS in 12 (40%) patients and SIT in 18 (60%) patients. There was a significant difference between preoperative, and early and late postoperative SSEPs values. Tibial nerve latencies were prolonged in the early postoperative, but shortened in the late postoperative period. In contrast, median nerve latencies were shortened in the early postoperative, but prolonged in the late postoperative period. There was no significant difference between the TCS and SIT groups based on the surgical intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
Tibial nerve latency may be prolonged in the early postoperative period of TCS and SIT patients. However, electrophysiological changes were not predictive for these patients. Further studies with more patients are needed for other spinal lesions.
Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey.
Serhat
S
Pusat
Cahit
C
Kural
Ilker
I
Solmaz
Caglar
C
Temiz
Yunus
Y
Kacar
Ozkan
O
Tehli
Murat
M
Kutlay
Mehmet
M
Daneyemez
Yusuf
Y
Izci
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004568:Electrodiagnosis; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult