WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
PATIENTS & FAMILIES
Both physicians and patients can feel confident that every precaution has been taken to ensure a successful outcome and avoid unintentional surgically-induced injuries. IONM (Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring) applies SSEP (somatosensory evoked potentials ), BAEP (brainstem auditory evoked potentials), tceMEP (transcranial electric motor evoked potentials), EMG (Electromyography), and EEG (Electroencephalography) recording techniques to detect any changes in the functional status of critical neurological structures that are at risk during surgery.
Accredited by The Joint Commission
United Medical Monitoring provides surgeons with an early warning system regarding iatrogenic injuries (surgically induced injuries), thus allowing the surgeon to avoid potential problems. IONM can be helpful in clarifying anatomical structures that have been distorted by degenerative disease, congenital anomalies, revision surgery, tumor, or inflammatory processes that may obscure normal anatomic
relationships and surgical landmarks. It can help identify new systematic (nervous system) impairment and identify or separate nervous system structures (for instance, around or in a tumor or scar tissue), and can demonstrate which tracts or nerves are still functional. When a surgeon has the benefit of early warning of altered neurological functions they can intervene immediately and avoid or reverse the potential for injury.
WHAT TO EXPECT
United Medical Monitoring CNIM technicians and physicians will collect, analyze, and interpret data from your body’s nervous system during your scheduled surgery. Prior to the start of the surgical procedure, small electrodes will be attached (with a mild adhesive or inserted just under the skin) to various parts of the patient’s body. United’s technologists and physicians will use these electrodes and computers to continuously monitor the functional status of at risk neural pathways and help identify the potential for injuries to the central and peripheral nervous system.
