2005 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 51-59
We monitored blood flow insufficiency using motor-evoked potential (MEP) during intracranial aneurysm surgery. The study population consisted of 220 patients with intracranial aneurysms who underwent surgery with intraoperative MEP monitoring. Anesthesia was maintained by the continuous infusion of propofol. All patients received a bolus injection of vecuronium bromide followed by drip-infusion to maintain a stable level of neuromuscular blockade. There was no postoperative motor paresis in 193 patients whose MEP remained unchanged. Of the other 27 patients, 25 manifested transient MEP changes. Of these 25 patients, 14 did not present with postoperative motor paresis ; transient motor paresis was recognized in the other 11. In two patients, MEP disappeared and did not recover. These patients developed severe hemiparesis and a postoperative computerized tomography scan revealed a new low-density area in the internal capsule.
