Heather Austin is pain-free and back to her active life after an innovative endoscopic spinal decompression procedure without fusion.
Photo courtesy of Heather Austin.
Heather Austin had always been blessed with great health. She easily balanced her career as a clinical social worker at UCI Health with a slew of activities for her two teens. Every morning, she ran three miles, a habit dating to her college days.
Two years ago, Austin began feeling what she described as “electric shocks” that traveled from her hips down both legs. Over time, the pain intensified, leaving her barely able to walk, let alone drive her children to school.
By early 2024, the 49-year-old Orange County resident was diagnosed with severe lumbar stenosis — a narrowing of the lower spine and compression of her spinal nerves — as well spondylolisthesis, which is when a vertabra slips out of place.
All the orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons she consulted recommended fusing her slipped vertabra to the adjacent vertabrae. But she worried that would severely restrict her ability to run and engage in other activities she thrived on.
Saved by novel procedure
Today, Austin is back to her morning runs, has full mobility and is pain free thanks to UCI Health spine surgeon Dr. Don Y. Park, one of the few orthopaedic surgeons in California who specialize in an innovative, minimally invasive outpatient surgery called biportal endoscopic spinal decompression. Using the tiniest of incisions, he is able to relieve compression on spinal nerves and correct a misaligned vertabra without fusion.
UCI Health is the only Southern California health system to offer this endoscopic surgical approach for a variety of cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions.
“I had immediate relief,” says Austin, who underwent the procedure at the new UCI Health — Irvine outpatient surgical center. “I had absolutely no nerve pain and only a little soreness in my back. My surgery was at 10:30 a.m. and I was home before 3 p.m.”
Next level spine care
Park, founding director of the UCI Health Advanced Endoscopic and Outpatient Spine Program, is one of about 50 U.S. surgeons skilled in the technique, which involves the use of specialized surgical tools and a high-definition camera that are inserted through incisions no bigger than a quarter inch.
The endoscopic approach was perfected in South Korea, where Park studied the technique. To date, he has performed more than 500 such procedures and now teaches other doctors across the nation.
During the surgery, he initially shaves a few millimeters of bone to better view the spinal canal and reach areas of bony overgrowth that may be impeding nerves and causing pain.
The tiny camera has a magnification of 200 times normal, allowing Park to see “pathological structures while avoiding normal ones like the spinal nerves and even capillaries, making this surgery as safe as possible.”
Fewer complications
In fact, he says, the complication rate of the endoscope procedures “can be as much as tenfold lower than traditional open spine surgeries in terms of infections, bleeding, wound problems, spinal leak and additional nerve issues.”
Most patients are able go home the same day, while some may need to be observed overnight at the surgery center. He says his patients also experience:
- Less trauma to muscles and soft tissue than traditional open surgery
- Less pain and discomfort after surgery
- Faster recovery
A painful path
The combination of lumbar stenosis and spondylolisthesis resulted in debilitating nerve pain for Austin, steadily eroding her quality of life. The daily run was the first thing to go. Then just walking around UCI Medical Center to see patients for her job grew tougher to manage.
Sitting and standing became a struggle. While driving, she braced herself before every speed bump and sharp turn, anticipating the excruciating pain that would shoot through her body.
“My husband and kids started noticing that I had a shorter temper,” Austin says. “I couldn’t really prioritize or think as clearly, and my energy was low. I remember watching my daughter cheer-leading at a game but I couldn't even yell for her and the team because it hurt too much.”
Not one to take pain medication, she nevertheless found herself needing muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medications to function.
To relieve pressure on her spinal nerves, the surgeons she consulted initially told her she not only needed fusion of the lower vertebrae but also a laminectomy. That procedure involves removal of the roof — or lamina — of the spinal canal, which protects and supports the backside of the spinal cord. It would also require three to four days in the hospital followed by months of recovery.
Serendipity strikes
In July 2024, Austin’s optometrist husband, Allen, sent her a video of a spine surgeon, adding, “I think he’s the guy who can help you! He works on cases like yours.”
That very day, Austin had just finished watching the video, looked up and saw the same doctor right in front of her at the medical center. Stunned, she approached him, showed him the screen of her mobile phone and asked if he was in man in the video. When he said yes, she blurted out, “I’m in so much pain and I think you could help me. Do you have a minute to talk?’”
A short time later, Austin was in his office.
“Right away, I knew he was different — very humble but very confident in his abilities,” she says. “It also impressed me that he had really studied my case beforehand — all my X-rays and my MRI. And he was certain that what I had could be cured by the procedure.”
Relief in sight
“Dr. Park was so clear when he described the endoscopic spinal decompression surgery and when he told me that I would most likely go home in a few hours, free of pain, I felt such hope,” she recalls.
On Aug. 23, Austin had the surgery at 10:30 a.m., awakened from anesthesia by 12:45 p.m. and made it home before her kids got out of school at 3 p.m.
She distinctly remembers being wheeled by a nurse to her car and yelping in pain when they went over a bump in the pathway. The nurse asked if she was hurt, and Austin realized she had braced herself and yelled out of habit.
“It was the first time in years that I had no pain!”
Game changer for spine patients
The first two weeks after surgery, Austin took walks to rebuild her strength. She had regular physical therapy. Finally, six weeks post-surgery, she took her first run.
“It felt amazing,” she says. “I had no pain whatsoever. I was so happy.”
Park says Austin's return to normal activities and function after undergoing biportal endoscopic spinal decompression is typical for patients of all ages. Even patients in their 80s and 90s bounce back quickly with minimal pain.
“I've done many other types of spine surgery and you can have great success,” he says. “But I have seen this technique have the most impact in patient outcomes and better quality of life.
“Endoscopic spine surgery is a huge game changer and it’s my opinion that it’s the way spine surgery will be performed in the future.”
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