scholarly journals Feasibility of Using Intraoperative Neuromonitoring in the Prophylaxis of Dysesthesia in Transforaminal Endoscopic Discectomies of the Lumbar Spine

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 522
Author(s):  
Paulo Sérgio Teixeira de Carvalho ◽  
Max Rogério Freitas Ramos ◽  
Alcy Caio da Silva Meireles ◽  
Alexandre Peixoto ◽  
Paulo de Carvalho ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Postoperative nerve root injury with dysesthesia is the most frequent sequela following lumbar endoscopic transforaminal discectomy. At times, it may be accompanied by transient and rarely by permanent motor weakness. The authors hypothesized that direct compression of the exiting nerve root and its dorsal root ganglion (DRG) by manipulating the working cannula or endoscopic instruments may play a role. (2) Objective: To assess whether intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring can help prevent nerve root injury by identifying neurophysiological events during the initial placement of the endoscopic working cannula and the directly visualized video endoscopic procedure. (3) Methods: The authors performed a retrospective chart review of 65 (35 female and 30 male) patients who underwent transforaminal endoscopic decompression for failed non-operative treatment of lumbar disc herniation from 2012 to 2020. The patients’ age ranged from 22 to 86 years, with an average of 51.75 years. Patients in the experimental group (32 patients) had intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring recordings using sensory evoked (SSEP), and transcranial motor evoked potentials (TCEP), those in the control group (32 patients) did not. The SSEP and TCMEP data were analyzed and correlated to the postoperative course, including dysesthesia and clinical outcomes using modified Macnab criteria, Oswestry disability index (ODI), visual analog scale (VAS) for leg and back pain. (4) Results: The surgical levels were L4/L5 in 44.6%, L5/S1 in 23.1%, and L3/L4 in 9.2%. Of the 65 patients, 56.9% (37/65) had surgery on the left, 36.9% (24/65) on the right, and the remaining 6.2% (4/65) underwent bilateral decompression. Postoperative dysesthesia occurred in 2 patients in the experimental and six patients in the control group. In the experimental neuromonitoring group, there was electrodiagnostic evidence of compression of the exiting nerve root’s DRG in 24 (72.7%) of the 32 patients after initial transforaminal placement of the working cannula. A 5% or more decrease and a 50% or more decrease in amplitude of SSEPs and TCEPs recordings of the exiting nerve root were resolved by repositioning the working cannula or by pausing the root manipulation until recovery to baseline, which typically occurred within an average of 1.15 min. In 15 of the 24 patients with such latency and amplitude changes, a foraminoplasty was performed before advancing the endoscopic working cannula via the transforaminal approach into the neuroforamen to avoid an impeding nerve root injury and postoperative dysesthesia. (5) Conclusion: Neuromonitoring enabled the intraoperative diagnosis of DRG compression during the initial transforaminal placement of the endoscopic working cannula. Future studies with more statistical power will have to investigate whether employing neuromonitoring to avoid intraoperative compression of the exiting nerve root is predictive of lower postoperative dysesthesia rates in patients undergoing videoendoscopic transforaminal discectomy.

2015 ◽  
Vol 02 (03) ◽  
pp. 179-192
Author(s):  
Zulfiqar Ali ◽  
Parmod Bithal

AbstractIntraoperative neurophysiological monitoring has achieved importance due to complexity of cranio-spinal surgical procedures being performed frequently these days. Many studies have proven a decreased neurological complication rate after its introduction. It is broadly of two types: Sensory evoked potentials and motor evoked potentials which are further sub-divided. Its use during surgery requires a controlled anaesthesia technique with no or minimal influence on its recording. Its success depends upon three way communication among the surgeon the neurophysiologist and the anaesthesiologist.


2010 ◽  
pp. 188-193
Author(s):  
George Samandouras

Chapter 4.3 covers sensory evoked potentials, motor evoked potentials (MEPs), electromyography, and the wake-up test.


Spine ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (14) ◽  
pp. E465-E473 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Mok ◽  
Russ Lyon ◽  
Jeremy A. Lieberman ◽  
Jordan M. Cloyd ◽  
Shane Burch

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaqi Li ◽  
Hao Cui ◽  
Zhipeng Liu ◽  
Yapeng Sun ◽  
Fei Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for guiding the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) by percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED). We collected the clinical data of a total of 19 patients: 10 with unilateral S1 nerve root injury, 6 with unilateral L5 nerve root injury, and 3 with unilateral L5 and S1 nerve root injury. All patients underwent DTI before surgery, 3 days post-surgery, 30 days post-surgery, and 90 days post-surgery. The comparison of the fractional anisotropy (FA) values of compressed lateral nerve roots before surgery and 3, 30, and 90 days post-surgery demonstrated the recovery of nerve roots to be a dynamic process. A significant difference was found in the FA values between compressed lateral nerve roots preoperatively and normal lateral nerve roots before surgery, 3 days post-surgery and 30 days post-surgery (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in FA values between compressed lateral nerve roots and normal ones 90 days post-surgery (p > 0.05). DTI can be used for the accurate diagnosis of LDH, as well as for postoperative evaluation and prognosis, and it is thus useful for the selection of surgical timing.


2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham

Abstract The AMAGuides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, does not provide a separate mechanism for rating spinal nerve injuries as extremity impairment; radiculopathy was reflected in the spinal rating process in Chapter 17, The Spine and Pelvis. Certain jurisdictions, such as the Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA), rate nerve root injury as impairment involving the extremities rather than as part of the spine. This article presents an approach to rate spinal nerve impairments consistent with the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, methodology. This approach should be used only when a jurisdiction requires ratings for extremities and precludes rating for the spine. A table in this article compares sensory and motor deficits according to the AMA Guides, Sixth and Fifth Editions; evaluators should be aware of changes between editions in methodology used to assign the final impairment. The authors present two tables regarding spinal nerve impairment: one for the upper extremities and one for the lower extremities. Both tables were developed using the methodology defined in the sixth edition. Using these tables and the process defined in the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, evaluators can rate spinal nerve impairments for jurisdictions that do not permit rating for the spine and require rating for radiculopathy as an extremity impairment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 514-519
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Sens ◽  
Sarah E. Meyers ◽  
Mark A. Koponen ◽  
Arne H. Graff ◽  
Ryan D. Reynolds ◽  
...  

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