A 52-year-old man from Mumbai undergoes right hemithyroidectomy for a 3 cm papillary thyroid carcinoma. During careful dissection of the right lobe, the surgeon inadvertently causes a small thermal injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve from the electrocautery device, noted as a brief flash near the nerve. The nerve appears grossly intact, but the surgeon is concerned about potential injury. Intraoperative neuromonitoring shows a 50% reduction in amplitude of the electromyographic response compared to the left side. What is the most appropriate next step?