Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
Measuring Contralateral Silent Period Induced by Single-Pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Investigate M1 Corticospinal Inhibition
Published on: August 23, 2022
Transcranial electric motor evoked potential monitoring during spine surgery: is it safe?
Daniel M Schwartz1, Anthony K Sestokas, John P Dormans
1Surgical Monitoring Associates, Springfield, PA 19064, USA. dan@surgmon.com
Study Design:
Retrospective review.
Objective:
To report on the safety of repetitive transcranial electric stimulation (RTES) for eliciting motor-evoked potentials during spine surgery.
Summary Of Background Data:
Theoretical concerns over the safety of RTES have hindered broader acceptance of transcranial electric motor-evoked potentials (tceMEP), despite successful implementation of spinal cord monitoring with tceMEPs in many large spine centers, as well as their apparent superiority over mixed-nerve somatosensory-evoked potentials (SSEP) for detection of spinal cord injury.
Methods:
The records of 18,862 consecutive patients who met inclusion criteria and underwent spine surgery with tceMEP monitoring were reviewed for RTES-related complications.
Results:
This large retrospective review identified only 26 (0.14%) cases with RTES-related complications; all but one of these were tongue lacerations, most of which were self-limiting.
Conclusions:
The results demonstrate that RTES is a highly safe modality for monitoring spinal cord motor tract function intraoperatively.
