Turkish Neurosurgery 2007 , Vol 17 , Num 2
Intraoperative Monitoring of A Patient With Craniovertebral Junction Meningioma
Ayçe ATALAY1, Başar ATALAY2, Oya Ümit YEMİŞÇİ3, Metin KARATAŞ4, Nur ALTINÖRS5
1,3,4Başkent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara, Turkey
2,5Başkent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey
Intraoperative monitoring is considered as a useful tool to prevent neurological damage during different neurosurgical procedures. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) allow simultaneous assessment of several cortical and sub cortical centers. In this case presentation, we report intraoperative monitoring of an elderly patient with craniovertebral junction meningioma. Tibial SEP responses were elicited by stimulation of the tibial nerve; the recordings were visually analyzed for the presence of the main peaks P40-N50, peak to peak amplitudes, peak latencies and compared to baseline recordings throughout the procedure. During decompression from the medial aspect of the medulla SEP responses were lost for a brief period of time. Surgeons achieved total tumor removal and the patient left the operating room without any neurological deficit. Keywords : Intraoperative monitoring, Somatosensory evoked potentials, Tibial
Corresponding author : Ayçe Atalay, aycea@baskent-ank.edu.tr