Application of a Needle Electrode for Intraoperative Neuromonitoring of Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve During Thyroidectomy

A single needle electrode may be applied for intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) during thyroid surgery. Although electromyogram (EMG) tube has been utilized as a standard method of IONM for RLN, concerns have been raised regarding limitations of using EMG tube including false positive signals due to malposition of the tube and relatively high cost. In this article, we describe the techniques of using a single electrode for IONM of RLN during thyroid surgery.