Multimodal intraoperative monitoring during surgical correction of scoliosis to avoid neurologic damage.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of multimodal intraoperative monitoring (MIOM) system in patients with congenital scoliosis (CS) and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).Twelve patients who underwent posterior surgical correction of scoliosis for CS and AIS from June 2014 to July 2018 were enrolled in this study. During the operation, we monitored the functional status of the spinal cord by MIOM. An abnormal somatosensory evoked potential was defined as a prolonged latency of more than 10% or a peak-to-peak amplitude decline of more than 50% when compared to baseline. An abnormal transcranial motor evoked potential (TcMEP) was defined as a TcMEP amplitude decrease of more than 50%. A normal triggered electromyography response, which presented with the absence of an electrical response on stimulation at 8.2 mA, indicated that the pedicle screw was not in contact with the spinal cord or nerve root.A total of 12 patients underwent MIOM surgery, of which 9 patients with negative MIOM had no significant deterioration of neurological function postoperatively, and exhibited satisfactory surgical correction of scoliosis during follow-ups. However, the remaining 3 patients suffered from MIOM events, 2 patients had normal neurological function, and 1 patient had deteriorated neurological function postoperatively.Using MIOM in CS and AIS surgery could promptly detect iatrogenic neurological injury at the early stage. Therefore, rapid response by appropriate intraoperative interventions can be taken to minimize the injury. Besides, stable MIOM recordings encourage surgeons to correct scoliosis even when the Cobb angle of scoliosis was extremely large.