The Laryngoscope
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Review Case Reports
Detection of evolving injury to the brachial plexus during transaxillary robotic thyroidectomy.
Continuous intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) of transcranial electric motor evoked potentials (tceMEPs) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) has gained universal acceptance as an efficacious method for detecting emerging positional brachial plexopathy or peripheral nerve compression during spinal and shoulder surgery. This has implications for transaxillary thyroid surgery. ⋯ Given the potential for brachial plexus injury during robotic transaxillary thyroid surgery secondary to arm positioning, we recommend that continuous tceMEP and SSEP monitoring be considered during such procedures.