Patent ID: 7962191

Claim:
A method of performing spine surgery, comprising: minimally invasively advancing a nerve surveillance instrument and a surgical access instrument towards a spinal target site, wherein the nerve surveillance instrument is dimensioned to be slidably received within the surgical access instrument and the surgical access instrument has an inner lumen dimensioned to pass an implant therethrough for introduction into said spinal target site, the nerve surveillance instrument having at least one nerve stimulation electrode disposed proximate a distal end thereof; energizing at least one nerve stimulation electrode disposed proximate a distal end of the nerve surveillance instrument while advancing the nerve surveillance instrument towards the surgical target site in an amount sufficient to depolarize nerves adjacent said nerve surveillance instrument such that said nerves may be detected and avoided without effecting tissue ablation or cauterization; removing said nerve surveillance instrument from said inner lumen after said surgical access instrument has been advanced to said spinal target site to thereby enable a surgeon to introduce said implant into said spinal target site; and introducing said implant into said spinal target site.