THE ROLE OF INTRAOPERATIVE NEUROPHYSIOLOGIC MONITORING TO ENHANCE SUCCESSFUL ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY

One of the main advance in orthopaedic surgery domain has a goal to investigates the safest and harmless method in surgical procedures. Less complications means a better outcome of surgery. One of the commonest risks at orthopaedic surgery is central and peripheral nerve injury. The modality of Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring (IONM) which act to limit the risk of nerve injury during operative procedure through the evaluation of nerve integrity and function enable the surgeon to decrease injury to the nerve associated with orthopaedic surgical procedure in the operating room. This article aims to explain and describe the latest modality of IONM, its basic concept and its function at surgery. The last part of the article discussed about orthopaedic surgical techniques which use IONM. The authors hope that this article will enhance the knowledge of all the readers about IONM. This article was written based on literature study searched at Google Scholar, Medline and PubMed. The references were taken from a relatively up to date study ranging from 2013-2018. The article was selected according to the authors inclusion criteria and six articles was chosen as the references for this review. As a conclusion, IONM has an important role to increase successful rate of surgery through minimizing nerve injury risk during surgical procedure.

Safety analysis and complications of condylar screws in a single-surgeon series of 250 occipitocervical fusions

Objective Condylar screw fixation is a rescue technique and an alternative to the conventional configuration of occipitocervical fusion. Condylar screws are utilized when previous surgical bone removal along the supraocciput has occurred which makes anchoring of a traditional barplate technically difficult or impossible. However, the challenging dissection of C0-1 necessary for condylar screw fixation and the concerns about possible complications have, thus far, prevented the acquisition of large surgical series utilizing occipital condylar screws. In the largest case series to date, this paper aims to evaluate the safety profile and complications of condylar screw fixation for occipitocervical fusion. Methods A retrospective safety and complication-based analysis of occipitocervical fusion via condylar screws fixation was performed. Results A total of 250 patients underwent occipitocervical fusions using 500 condylar screws between September 2012 and September 2018. No condylar screw pullouts, or vertebral artery impingements were observed in this series. The sacrifice of condylar veins during the dissection at C0-1 did not cause any venous stroke. Hypotrophic condyles were found in 36.4% (91 of the 250) cases and did not prevent the insertion of condylar screws. Two transient hypoglossal deficits occurred at the beginning of this surgical series and were followed by recovery a few months later. Corrective strategies were effective in preventing further hypoglossal injuries. Conclusions This surgical series suggests that the use of condylar screws fixation is a relatively safe and reliable option for OC fusion in both adult and pediatric patients. Methodical dissection of anatomical landmarks, intraoperative imaging, and neurophysiologic monitoring allowed the safe execution of the largest series of condylar screws reported to date. Separate contributions will follow in the future to provide details about the long-term clinical outcome of this series.

Schwannoma of the Intermediate Nerve: A Rare Type of Cerebellopontine Angle Tumor

Background: Schwannoma of the Intermediate Nerve is rare. The most majority of Cerebellopontine angle (CPA) lesions are Vestibular Schwannomas. Case description: A 50-year-old woman presented with ear pain, facial palsy and hypoacusis. MRI revealed a CPA tumor. A left retrosigmoid approach and microsurgery was performed and the tumor origin was from the intermediate nerve. intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (MNIO) was used during the surgery. Conclusion: Schwannomas of the intermediate nerve is indistinguishable from vestibular schwannomas on preoperatory image, however it’s possible to identify tumor origin during microsurgery dissection with aid of MNIO and origin from intermediate nerve is a reality.