The Use of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring for Cervical Spine Surgery: Indications, Challenges, and Advances

Abstract

Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) has become an indispensable surgical adjunct in cervical spine procedures to minimize surgical complications. Understanding the historical development of IONM, indications for use, associated pitfalls, and recent developments will allow the surgeon to better utilize this important technology. While IONM has shown great promise in procedures for cervical deformity, intradural tumors, or myelopathy, routine use in all cervical spine cases with moderate pathology remains controversial. Pitfalls that need to be addressed include human error, a lack of efficient communication, variable alarm warning criteria, and a non-standardized checklist protocol. As the techniques associated with IONM technology become more robust moving forward, IONM emerges as a crucial solution to updating patient safety protocols.

Keywords

• intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM)
• cervical spine surgery
• cervical deformity
• complication avoidance
• somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP)
• transcranial motor evoked potential (TcMEP)