Expert's comment concerning Grand Rounds case entitled "Minimal access bilateral transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for high-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis" (by Nasir A. Quraishi and Y. Raja Rampersaud; doi:10.1007/s00586-012-2623-2).

This Expert's Comment discusses the Grand Rounds Case entitled "Minimal Access Bilateral Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion for High-Grade Isthmic Spondylolisthesis" by Nasir A Quraishi and Raja Y Rampersaud. It puts a technically elegant surgical method for minimally invasive reduction and arthrodesis of isthmic spondylolistheses into the context of short and long term outcomes and questions the motivations for performing such minimally invasive procedures in the absence of any proven mid or long term advantages over more traditional techniques. In addition, the use of BMP in spinal arthrodesis is discussed on the background of recently published IPD metaanalyses from the Infuse spinal FDA trials.