A company riding the crest of a boom in ambulatory care that features doctors working on site as owners and medical providers of care centers has mastered the art of online marketing to draw patients to its website and care facilities.

Now it is garnering a glaring amount of online publicity that it never intended to receive, accompanied by a rash of medical malpractice lawsuits against its doctors.

Laser Spine Institute was founded several years back by a an entrepreneur just out of bankruptcy, who now owns a $10 million home in Florida, an $8 million property in Aspen and seven cars. The company's business plan included an online marketing blitz to capture patients. Its competitors estimate that Laser Spine spends more than $100,000 each month for its online presence.

The institute advertises quick pain relief and no overnight stays for its patients, with doctors at its four centers across the country burning off sensitive nerve endings with lasers. A routine procedure costs more than double what the same operation costs elsewhere, and the surgery is not covered by many insurance companies, including Aetna.

Multiple back surgeons have stated that Laser Spine's surgery is often unnecessary and inappropriately prescribed for patients. The evidence that it helps patients "is pretty weak," says one of them.

Nationally, about six malpractice lawsuits are brought against outpatient surgery centers for every 20,000 surgeries carried out. The suits brought against Laser Spine Institute greatly exceed that rate. Since October 2009, the company has performed about 7,500 procedures, 15 of which resulted in malpractice claims against it.

Laser Spine Institute reported $109 million in revenues in 2010.

Related Resource: Bloomberg, "Patients Sue Back Surgery Company Laser Spine" May 12, 2011