Automated Periodic Stimulation Electrode Installation: A Technique to Surgically Implant An Automated Stimulation Device on the Vagus Nerve in a Porcine Model

Wearing sterile surgical gloves, use a scalpel to make a 10 to 15-centimeter transverse collar incision to expose the neck and the larynx, and raise the subplatysmal flap one centimeter cranially from the clavicle to the hyoid bone.

Remove the strap muscles to visualize the tracheal rings and nerves, and use a hand-held stimulation probe to carefully expose the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, the RLN, and the vagus nerve.

Position an automated periodic stimulation electrode on one side of the vagus nerve for stimulation during continuous intraoperative neural monitoring, and connect the electrode to the monitoring system.