"Neuromonitoring during lesser pelvis surgery is still uncharted territory"

"Neuromonitoring during lesser pelvis surgery is still uncharted territory" Interview with Prof Klaus-Peter Hoffmann, Head of Medical Engineering & Neuroprosthetics, Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT in St. Ingbert, Germany The bowel is surrounded by a dense plexus of nervous tissue that presents problems for surgeons. On the one hand, it is difficult to distinguish from the surrounding tissue; while on the other hand, sometimes portions of it need to be removed when parts of the colon are removed. Yet injuring these nerves can result in permanent damage, since they control bladder function, anal sphincter muscles and sexual function.

Intraoperative neuromonitoring could prevent this by warning surgeons before they damage nerves. In the interview with MEDICA.de, Prof Klaus-Peter Hoffmann explains how this works in the lesser pelvis and what problems the sacrum causes in this.

Prof Hoffmann, what challenges do surgeons encounter during lesser pelvis surgery?

Klaus-Peter Hoffmann: One of our project partners, Prof Werner Kneist from the Mainz University Medical Center Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery always states that the nerve tissue in this area "lines the pelvic floor like wallpaper on the inside ... Read the interview at MEDICA-Tradefair.comImage copyright: University Hospital Mainz/ Prof Werner Kneist