Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring in Laryngotracheal Surgery

Publication date: Available online 15 May 2017 Source:Cirugía Española (English Edition) Author(s): Sergio Bolufer, María Dolores Coves, Carlos Gálvez, Gustavo Adolfo Villalona Laryngotracheal surgery has an inherent risk of injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerves (RLN). These complications go from minor dysphonia to even bilateral vocal cord paralysis. The intraoperative neuromonitoring of the RLN was developed in the field of thyroid surgery, in order to preserve nerve and vocal cord function. However, tracheal surgery requires in-field intubation of the distal trachea, which limits the use of nerve monitoring using conventional endotracheal tube with surface electrodes. Given these challenges, we present an alternative method for nerve monitoring during laryngotracheal surgery through the insertion of electrodes within the endolaryngeal musculature by bilateral puncture.
Source: Cirugia Espanola - Category: Surgery Source Type: research