Tongue Bite Injury Resulting from Intra-operative Neuromonitoring during Posterior Scoliosis Corrective Surgery Not an Uncommon Complication: Case Report and Literature Review

Author Info

Lim Han Sim Khoh Phaik Shan Chan Sook Kwan Zairul Anuar B Kamarul Bahrin

Corresponding Author

Lim Han Sim
Department of Orthopaedic, Penang General Hospital, Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

A B S T R A C T

Tongue bite injuries (TBI) resulting from the use of intra-operative neuromonitoring (IONM) during spinal surgeries are not as uncommon a complication as previously thought, especially when using transcranial motor evoked potential (TcMEP). The incidence of bite injuries ranged from 0.14% to 0.63%, with TBI occurring four times more frequently than lip injuries, and of these, 0.15% of tongue lacerations required surgical repair. Through our literature search, we discovered that these injuries have never been reported in Malaysia; additionally, this is the first incidence encountered by our team. We are reporting a 20-year-old male who sustained a TBI during posterior scoliosis corrective surgery while using TcMEP. We report on its management and reviewed literatures to explain the causes and the recommendations for the prevention of this injury. In conclusion, TBI is an unpleasant complication in spinal surgery related to the use of IONM. Safety precautions need to be taken during surgical preparation, and we propose using two to three soft bite blocks (SBB) to aid in reducing the rate of this complication.

Article Info

Article Type

Case Report and Review of the Literature

Publication history

Received: Thu 09, Jun 2022
Accepted: Mon 27, Jun 2022
Published: Thu 07, Jul 2022

Copyright

© 2023 Lim Han Sim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.JSCR.2022.01.05