Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring in Spine Deformity Surgery

Although the incidence of neurologic injury in deformity surgery is low, the repercussions are devastating; therefore, every measure available should be adopted to minimize that risk. Advances in instrumentation have been paralleled by the development and improved understanding of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring which enables lower morbidity in increasingly complex surgeries. Currently, multimodality intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring includes somatosensory-evoked potentials, transcranial motor–evoked potentials, triggered electromyographic stimulation, and mixed neurogenic evoked potentials. The combination of these monitoring modalities provides the greatest sensitivity in detecting impending neurologic compromise during deformity surgery. © 2012 Scoliosis Research Society