How we do it: Nerve monitoring in ENT surgery: current UK practice

Keypoints • Nerve injury may complicate mastoid, thyroid, parotid or cervical lymph node surgery. Continuous intra‐operative monitoring may help prevent such injury. • Nerve monitoring is used by 51% of UK consultant surgeons performing primary mastoid surgery, 90% undertaking parotid surgery, and 24% of surgeons performing routine thyroid surgery. • The efficacy of such monitoring in reducing nerve injury during these procedures has not been established. Unless such evidence emerges, a surgeon will not automatically be considered negligent if operating without monitoring.