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Improving spine care with minimally invasive endoscopic surgery

Technique has improved safety and reduced patient stress, says UCI Health orthopaedic surgeon

UCI Health spine surgeon Dr. Don Park wearing AR headset.
Dr. Don Y. Park wears an augmented-reality headset during a biportal endoscopic lumbar fusion procedure in 2025, the first to fully integrate the technology with the surgery.

IN THE NEWS: Dr. Don Y. Park, a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic spine surgeon at the UCI Health Comprehensive Spine Center, recently spoke to Becker’s Spine Review about how minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery has helped patients experience less pain, faster recovery and be mobile right after their procedure.

becker's spine review black and burgundy letters on white background“I can rest easy that the patients will not have a surgical site infection or wound complication after surgery.

The clinical outcomes are much more predictable with the standardization of the multimodal pain regimen, patient education, and postoperative protocols. Endoscopic spine surgery has absolutely transformed my complication profile and my stress level with my patients.”

Park is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic spine surgeon with expertise in endoscopic spine surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery and outpatient spine surgery.

Park is the world’s first surgeon to perform augmented reality-assisted biportal endoscopic lumbar fusion. He is internationally recognized as a key opinion leader in spinal endoscopy and regularly lectures around the world.

He has published both basic science and clinical peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as written textbook chapters on minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery. He has won multiple “Best Paper” awards for his research from the North American Spine Society and the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery.

About UCI Health

UCI Health is one of California’s largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Established on July 1, 1976, UCI Health has grown into a 1,461-bed health system that includes UCI Health — Orange, UCI Health — Irvine, four Community Network hospitals and a growing network of ambulatory care centers across Orange and Los Angeles counties. As Orange County’s only academic health systems, UCI Health is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in the county, the region’s only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, American College of Emergency Physicians Gold Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department and a nationally recognized regional burn center verified by the American Burn Association. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people across Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County through excellence in patient care, research and medical education. Follow UCI Health on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.