Intraoperative monitoring of microvascular decompression in hemifacial spasm

The significance of intraoperative electrophysiologic monitoring during microvascular decompression was evaluated prospectively in 261 patients with the hemifacial spasm from 1985 to 1995. The patients were divided into a monitored group and a non-monitored group. Identification of the offending vessels was facilitated by the monitoring during the surgical procedure and the complication rate of the monitored group was significantly lower than that of the non-monitored group (p < 0.05). In addition, the abnormal muscle response continued to improve during the follow-up period, thus the electrophysiological status of the hemifacial spasm after the microvascular decompression improved significantly with time (p < 0.05). In conclusion, intraoperative monitoring is useful for identifying the exact offender among multiple vessels, and lowering the complication rate of the microvascular decompression for the hemifacial spasm.