Surgical treatment of tethered cord syndromecomparing the results of surgeries with and without electrophysiological monitoring

PurposeTo compare the short- and long-term outcomes after surgical treatment of tethered cord syndrome with and without electrophysiological monitoring.MethodWe collected the preoperative data of 102 tethered cord surgeries of 91 patients. We compared the outcomes regarding the presence of intraoperative electrophysiology, the types of surgeries and the preoperative neurological condition. We also analysed the long-term outcomes in the cases of 69 patients.ResultsWe found that intraoperative electrophysiology can reduce the perioperative surgical risk significantly (from 9.4 to 2.9%, p<0.001), and electrophysiology is also beneficial in avoiding long-term progression in 88.7% (p=0.03341).ConclusionTethered cord surgeries are safe and effective. With the use of intraoperative electrophysiology, the risk of postoperative worsening is as low as 2.9%, and long-term progression can be avoided in the majority of the patients.