Avondale Partners analyst Brian Williams says patient traffic at surgery center chain AmSurg is slowly mending, but investors will likely have to wait another quarter to see decent growth.

While 3Q volumes appear to be returning to a flat run rate, management is still uncertain when growth will return to historical levels. Some procedures may also be delayed to 4Q10 as individuals meet deductible levels.

Williams, who has a 'market perform' rating on AmSurg, expects the company (Ticker: AMSG) to report this afternoon a Q3 profit of 43 cents per diluted share, a penny more than the consensus.