What Is N'Spine IONM?
Intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (IONM) is a crucial adjunct surgical service that has become the standard of care for many surgical procedures. The valuable information IONM provides helps the surgeon to plan for and immediately identify at-risk neural structures and prevent impairment. This real-time feedback allows the surgical team to intervene promptly to prevent or reduce post-operative neurological deficits.
Depending on the procedure, a variety of tests can be used to measure nerve pathways and functions. IONM works by delivering electrical impulses to the nervous system and measuring their effect. To gather this information, electrodes are secured to patients safely and accurately to insure accurate feedback from patient's neurophysiology.
A trained clinician (surgical neurophysiologist), under the supervision of a board-certified IONM physician, constantly monitors the information gathered during the surgery in real-time. When significant neurophysiological change is detected, the IONM team provides immediate feedback to the surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses who can respond quickly to minimize the chances of long-term post-operative injury. IONM provides an extra layer of confidence and safety for the surgeon and most importantly, protecting the patient.