A 38-year-old woman from Mumbai undergoes total thyroidectomy for Graves' disease. Intraoperatively, during dissection of the right lobe near the inferior thyroid artery, the surgeon notices sudden loss of signal on neuromonitoring of the right recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN), though the nerve appears anatomically intact. The surgeon confirms the electrode position and repeats stimulation—no response. What is the most appropriate immediate intraoperative action?