Conducted somatosensory evoked potentials during spinal surgery

Abstract

In 27 patients undergoing laminectomy, spinal cord function was monitored by epidural bipolar recordings of conducted spinal somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP's) across the laminectomy site, with calculation of spinal conduction velocity (CV). In control cases without myelopathy, the CV remained relatively constant (+/- 3%) even during prolonged operations, despite markedly changing levels of anesthesia. Acute CV changes were detected intraoperatively in three cases: these patients displayed improvement after extramedullary (Case 1) and intramedullary decompression (Case 2), and deterioration after direct unilateral dorsal column injury (Case 3). These intraoperative CV alterations correlated postoperatively with changes in the neurological examination. Although a unilateral lesion confined to the dorsal column abolished the ipsilateral SEP in Case 3, complete anterior quadrant lesions did not consistently change the CV (Case 4). This further suggests that the SEP is generated entirely by ipsilateral dorsal column activation. Accurate measurement of this dorsal column conduction velocity across the operative field provides a very sensitive means of monitoring spinal cord function during operations for neurosurgical spinal lesions.