Impulse monitoring
is proud to have contributed to these programs of continuing medical education and humanitarian surgical relief involving
intra-operative monitoring. We have helped to sponsor the
following programs or activities:
Impulse
Provides Equipment for
University
of Virginia Spine Center Medical Mission to Republic of Trinidad
& Tobago
November 28, 2006
Dear Dr. Conley
We would like to thank you from the bottom of our
heart for lending the equipment of intraoperative spinal
cord monitoring during our medical mission to Trinidad.
This medical mission was a success. During our 5 day
stay we operated on three major pediatric spinal
deformities at the Princess Elizabeth Centre in Port of
Spain. .
Dr Toby who is the chief of staff at the Princess
Elizabeth Hospital had lined up 3 complex scoliosis: The
first one was a 15 years old girl with neurofibromatosis
and a double curve of 80 degrees. The second patient had
Marfan syndrome and a lumbar scoliosis of 60 degrees.
The last patient was obviously the most complex: It was
a 12 year old boy with a 110 degree curve. Dr Toby put
him on cranio femoral traction on a stryker frame two
weeks before our arrival to correct the curve to some
extent. Thanks to the traction the curve had been
corrected to 80 degrees. The surgery was a posterior
spine fusion with concave costectomies.
Your equipment was essential for the outcome of the 3
surgeries. Thanks to the Impulse Intraoperative
Monitoring equipment we avoided a major neurologic
complication in the little boy with a 120 degrees curve.
During the surgery which was performed under total
intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) the motor evoked potential
dropped amplitudes to 80 % of baseline on the left side
when the second convex rod was inserted. The SSEP on the
other hand remained normal throughout. Charlene Saint
Laurent immediately warned me of the ongoing problem.
After 5 minutes such MEP signals were not reappearing
and even getting worse. I slightly reversed the
correction and the MEP returned to baseline within 3
minutes.
The patient woke up with a perfectly normal
neurologic function and with a very satisfactory
correction.
Dr David Toby, Charlene Saint Laurent and I would
therefore like to thank your company for making such a
medical mission possible and safe. Once again thank you
for allowing us the use of your equipment so we could
perform state of the art spinal surgery with IOM in the
developing Commonwealth of Trinidad.
Please find
attached the slides of the little boy with a 120 degrees curve.