Ambulatory surgery center ownership models.

Outpatient spine surgery performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) has grown dramatically over the last decade because of significant clinical and economic advantages to patients, physicians and the health care industry. Physicians benefit from the efficiencies of the outpatient setting and potential profit from ownership. There are various ownership models which differ primarily on the amount of ownership attributed to physicians, management companies and hospital systems, the key players in the space.

Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF).

Degenerative spondylolisthesis with or without spondylolysis, multiply recurrent disk herniation, and degenerative disk disease commonly presents as back and leg pain, weakness and paresthesias. Surgical intervention, to include lumbar decompression with instrumented fusion with or without interbody fusion, is recommended to patients who are refractory to at least six weeks of nonoperative treatment, or patients with severe or progressive neurological deficits. This paper reviews the pre- and post-operative considerations, as well as the surgical technique, for a minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for the above conditions.