[Monitoring the neurogenic mixed evoked potentials during surgery of the spine: a good solution?]

Spinal deformity surgery carries a risk of rare but dramatic neurological complications. Intraoperative spinal cord monitoring has been initially performed using somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP). However, false-negative cases have been reported and neurophysiologists supplement SEPs with concurrent motor evoked potentials. The so-called neurogenic mixed evoked potentials (NMEPs) represent an alternate choice, allowing combined monitoring of motor and somatosensory central pathways. They are recorded from a peripheral nerve after spinal cord stimulation. NMEPs have been experimentally and clinically shown to be sensible for detecting spinal cord injury. They are easily and rapidly recorded, and NMEP monitoring may be continuously performed during the critical steps of surgery.