Patients
The goal of intraoperative monitoring during spine and brain surgeries is to make sure the patient will walk out of the hospital. It is that simple. The technology exists where, with the proper intraoperative monitoring program in place, the surgeon can receive during the surgery immediate information regarding how the brain, spine, and spinal cord is working. This information allows the surgeon to make critical decisions regarding the surgical procedure using the best medical technology available in the world. Often, when a patient is scheduled for surgery, a pre operative visit with the neurophysiologist or the neurophysiology technologist is scheduled. This visit is designed to obtain as much information regarding the patient’s neurologic condition to best plan the intraoperative monitoring of the surgery. When you schedule a pre operative visit, you will receive via email or US mail a packet of information regarding the evaluations to be performed, information on what to wear for your comfort, if you can take your normal medications, and answers to any other questions you may have. The visit usually takes about one hour and the patient may return immediately to their daily activities.
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If you or someone you know is about to undergo a spine or brain surgery, you might consider asking your surgeon about intraoperative monitoring.