Inventors:
James L. Rea - Columbia MO
Jerry W. Templer - Columbia MO
William E. Davis - Columbia MO
International Classification:
A61B 504
Abstract:
An electrode for laryngeal electromyography comprises an insulator body having a pair of rigid conductors or posts mounted in a spaced apart relation therein. A pair of flexible electrical wires have one end connected with an associated post, and the other end adapted for connection to an electrical signal monitor. A tab projects outwardly of the insulator body, and is shaped for insertion into a laryngeal ventricle portion of the patient and prevents inadvertent removal of the electrode from a vocalis muscle thereof. The free ends of the posts are embedded into the patients vocalis muscle, and a signal generating probe is applied to surgically exposed internal tissue in the area surrounding the recurrent laryngeal nerve, whereby contact between the probe and the laryngeal nerve excites the vocalis muscle and the monitor, thereby indicating to the surgeon the exact location of the nerve.