EMG and Evoked Potentials in the Operating Room During Spinal Surgery

EMG is an important clinical electrodiagnostic tool to assess function of neuromuscular tissue. It assesses spinal motor nerve roots and determines correct placement of hardware in surgical procedures, including cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral spinal decompression, instrumentation, and fixation of spinal deformity. Evoked potentials provide information on vascular compromise of the spinal cord and nerves. Hence, concurrent recordings of EMG and evoked potentials can assess function integrity of the spinal cord and nerve more accurately. In this chapter, we will discuss application of EMG and evoked potentials in spinal surgery.