Neurophysiologic monitoring during surgery of peripheral and cranial nerves, and in selective dorsal rhizotomy.

Physiologic monitoring may warn of impending neural damage and intraoperative assessment may provide critical information used to direct the surgical procedure itself. Intraoperative techniques utilize methods modified from the diagnostic neurophysiologic laboratory. Simultaneous multimodality recording of different signal sources is of particular value for several types of procedures. Intraoperative studies must be tailored to each patient's clinical condition and to the specific surgical risks. Since studies have supported the benefits of intraoperative monitoring for peripheral nerve and cranial nerve surgery, monitoring is not likely to be subjected to the rigors of a randomized controlled study for these procedures.