Monitoring of cortical somatosensory evoked potentials to determine the safety of sacrificing the anterior cerebral artery.

Cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) reflect the functional integrity of somatosensory pathways from the site of stimulation to the primary somatosensory cortex. We used intraoperative monitoring of cortical SSEPs to determine whether the right anterior cerebral artery (RACA), the major feeding vessel of a large arteriovenous malformation (AVM), could be sacrificed without compromising sensorimotor function in the left lower extremity. The SSEPs recorded after test occlusion of the RACA showed preservation of the initial cortical positivity, and the RACA was divided. The AVM was excised completely, and the patient suffered no neurological deficit.