Introduction of intraoperative neuromonitoring in neurosurgical operations
Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) is a modern technology developed specifically to ensure the safety of surgical operations and qualitatively change the level of surgical care. The purpose of the technology is to protect nervous system, which helps to avoid any risk of internal trauma or iatrogenic damage, vital functions are controlled, namely: motor, somatosensory, auditory, visual functions, throughout the entire surgical operation. Despite the improvement of surgical technique, the risks of neurological complications remain [1]. Thus, the frequency of neurological complications, depending on the method of surgical treatment used, ranges from 0,37 to 10% [2]. The development of such complications can be caused not only by direct mechanical damage, stretching or compression of nerve structures, but also by a violation of vascular supply of a spinal cord, which is associated with peculiarities of its blood supply [3, 4]. The use of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) makes it possible to prevent such situations [5].