Patent ID: 7920922

Claim:
A method of establishing an operative corridor for spinal surgery, comprising: mounting a plurality of EMG electrodes proximate to selected leg muscles; activating a nerve monitoring system that outputs a stimulation current signal to one or more surgical access instruments and that, in response to signals from the EMG electrodes, displays neuromuscular response information which is indicative of nerve proximity; advancing a plurality of sequential dilator cannulas through bodily tissue having neural structures in a selected path toward a targeted intervertebral disc of a spine, each of the sequential dilator cannulas having at least one stimulation electrode that delivers the stimulation signal to the bodily tissue before reaching the spine; during advancement of each respective sequential dilator cannula through the bodily tissue, viewing the neuromuscular response information on a display device of the nerve monitoring system for an indication of nerve proximity when the stimulation signal is delivered to the bodily tissue from the respective sequential dilator cannula; advancing a working corridor instrument over an outermost dilator cannula of the plurality of sequential dilator cannulas toward the targeted intervertebral disc of the spine; and establishing an operative corridor to the targeted intervertebral disc of the spine using the working corridor instrument.