Abstract: The break-apart needle electrode system includes a pair of needle electrodes housed together in a fixed spaced-apart relationship. The needle electrodes are joined to electrical conductive wire for detachable connection to an electrical source. The needle electrodes are used in intraoperative facial nerve monitoring by facial electromyographic recording. Since the needle electrodes are furnished as a bipolar pair with twisted leads in a single break-away housing, they provide standardization, ease of placement and close bipolar recording. In instances where separate placement of needle electrodes is desired, the housing can be broken apart at a break-away joint. The needle electrodes are easily manipulated at the housing section as a tandem unit or as separate entities after the housing is broken apart.

Abstract: The nasal packing device includes a splint portion, an airway member secured to the splint portion and a flexible expandable membrane secured to the airway member. An inflation chamber is thus defined between the flexible expandable membrane and the airway member. Under this arrangement, expansion of the membrane is in a direction away from the airway member enabling the membrane to provide a substantially uniform pressure against the splint portion and against any portions of the nose which the membrane comes into contact with. A uniform compressive force provided by the expandable membrane is thus attainable within the nasal passageway to arrest intranasal bleeding, while the splint supports the septum and the airway member allows nasal breathing.