Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring During Lead Placement for Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation: A Literature Review and Case Series.

Introduction: Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG-S) is a viable interventional option for intractable pain management. Although systematic data are lacking regarding the immediate neurologic complications of this procedure, intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) can be a valuable tool to detect real-time neurologic changes and prompt intervention(s) during DRG-S performed under general anesthesia and deep sedation.

Materials And Methods: In our single-center case series, we performed multimodal IONM, including peripheral nerve somatosensory evoked potentials (pnSSEPs) and dermatomal somatosensory evoked potentials (dSSEPs), spontaneous electromyography (EMG), transcranial motor evoked potentials (MEPs), and electroencephalogram (EEG) for some trials and all permanent DRG-S lead placement per surgeon preference.