Degenerative lumbar disease (DLD) is a condition of increasing frequency, affecting millions of patients worldwide. They are characterised by functional impairment and the occurrence of severe chronic pain and disability.~Arthrodesis of the lumbar spine is a common surgery for the treatment of DLD. It is commonly performed during a hospital stay that can vary from 3 to 7 days. The advent of mini-invasive techniques and the development of Improved Rehabilitation after Surgery program has made it possible to considerably reduce the duration of hospitalization of patients with a high rate of satisfaction, a reduction in costs and without increasing morbidity. In spinal surgery, decompression procedures such as discectomy and lumbar recalibration are frequently performed on an ambulatory. The first American studies with a low level of evidence on the management of mini-invasive lumbar arthrodesis are beginning to appear. It is quite possible that in the future this type of procedure will be carried out on an ambulatory as a standard procedure, but its safety, efficacy and patient satisfaction must be proven and validated. In the United States, 23-hour hospitalizations are considered as ambulatory procedures, whereas in France, ambulatory is qualified as such when the patient is admitted and discharged in the same day.~The study population was patients who had failed medical treatment (analgesics and rehabilitation) for more than three months and who required a mono-segmental arthrodesis procedure for the management of their lumbar-radiculalgia.
Degenerative lumbar pathologies are characterised by functional impairment and the occurrence of severe chronic pain and disability Arthrodesis of the lumbar spine is a common surgery for the treatment of degenerative lumbar pathologies. It is commonly performed during a hospital stay that can vary from 3 to 7 days. The development of mini-invasive techniques and the development of the Improved Rehabilitation after Surgery programmes, has considerably reduced the hospital stay of the patients. It is possible that in the future mini-invasive lumbar arthrodesis will be performed on an ambulatory as a standard procedure, but its safety, efficacy and patient satisfaction must be proven and validated.