Electrical stimulation of the human recurrent laryngeal nerve during thyroid operation

Abstract

A method for identification of the human recurrent laryngeal nerve during thyroid operation is described. It is based on electrical stimulation of the nerve and recording of the muscle action potentials in the vocal muscle with a needle electrode inserted through the cricothyroid membrane. The recurrent laryngeal nerve could be easily identified in all of the 13 patients (15 nerves) investigated. The motor nerve conduction velocity in the recurrent laryngeal nerve was also studied and found to be 48.6 ± 3.5 m/sec.