Minimal Access Spine Technology (MAST) is used to treat degenerative disease of the spine. Henry Ford Hospital was the first in Michigan to use this technology. Results have been dramatic for simple discectomies, as well as complex spinal fusions with instrumentation. MAST, a procedure now routinely offered to our patients here at Henry Ford Hospital, is suitable for conditions such as spinal stenosis, mechanical instability due to advanced arthritis of the lumbar spine, and herniated discs, which may lead to nerve root compression. Patients are considered good candidates for this surgery if they have one or two level instability and have had no previous instrumented fusion surgery in the involved region.
Using MAST for spinal fusion surgery requiring instrumentation of rods and screws has had success rates in excess of 90 percent in restoring function and reducing pain. Previously, such spine fusion surgery could only be performed using an open, traditional surgery with large incision and significant muscle resection resulting in a large blood transfusion and more significant post-op pain and discomfort. MAST surgery offers significant advantages over the traditional surgery. With shorter surgery and no need for blood transfusion, patients can be out of the hospital much faster and return to normal levels of functionality and resume their work in half the time required for the open surgery.
Laminotomy/Foraminotomy: Compression of the nerve roots can cause neck or back pain, stiffness and pain radiating into the arm or leg. Protruded or ruptured discs, bone spurs, and thickened ligaments and facet joints can cause narrowing of the neural foramina and cause these symptoms. Laminotomy or foraminotomy aims to enlarge the space where a spinal nerve root exits the spinal canal to relieve these symptoms.
Laminoplasty: Another procedure offered for patients with restricted spinal canals in their necks, typically children, this procedure immediately relieves pressure by creating more space for the spinal cord and nerve roots. This technique is often referred to as an "open door laminoplasty" because the back of the vertebrae is made to swing open like a door and take pressure off the spinal cord and nerve roots. Small wedges made of bone are placed in the opened space of the "door."
Cervical Discectomy: To relieve pressure on the cord or nerve root, the cervical spine is reached through a small incision in the front or, less frequently, the back of the neck. A bone graft and metal plate may be required during surgery to achieve a solid fusion.
Corpectomy: In some patients, the cervical spinal canal can be narrowed by bone spurs arising from the back of the vertebral body or the ligament behind the vertebral bodies. Corpectomy is an operation to remove a portion of the vertebra in addition to the adjacent intervertebral discs to achieve adequate decompression of the cervical spinal cord and spinal nerves.
Spinal Fusion: A spinal fusion unites two bony segments to correct abnormal movement seen in advanced degenerative process of the spine (SPONDYLOTEC disease) or other conditions such as a fractured spine following a motor vehicle accident.
Interbody Fusion: Like spinal fusion, this procedure is used to unite two bony segments of the spine. In this case, an intervertebral disc is removed and the void is filled with a spacer called a cage (metal or bony) as a means to support the spine column and achieve solid fusion. Most of these procedures can be performed through an anterior or posterior approach and more recently through a minimally invasive surgery known as MAST.
