Biography

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Stephen S. Luk, M.D., specializes in acute care surgery, trauma, surgical critical care and complex wound care/limb salvage management. 

Dr. Luk earned his medical degree at the Texas A&M College of Medicine. He completed an internship in general surgery at Baylor Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, and a residency in general surgery at Polyclinic Medical Center in Harrisburg, Penn., followed by an integrated surgery residency at the University of Connecticut. He then received advanced training in trauma surgery, surgical critical care and aeromedicine through separate fellowships at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. He has complete over 100 flight missions.  He has completed a Masters Degree in Business Administration 2014.

Board certified in general surgery and surgery critical care, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2009. In addition to his teaching duties, he is the Medical Director of the UTSW Willed Body Program. He is also the Medical Director of the Comphrehensive Wound Care Center Service and the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland Hospital. Past duties include Medical Director of the Emergency General Surgery Service and Trauma Service at Parkland Memorial Hospital.  He has been active in redesign of the Anatomy curriculum and the medical school and redesign of the anatomy labs at UTSW.  

He has served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the State of Texas Anatomical Board since 2014. He has testified before the Texas State legislature and help craft multiple state laws and statues.

Dr. Luk is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. He has the Chair of the ACS North Texas Chapter Committee on Trauma. He is also a site reviewer for the ACS Education Committee and a consultant for the group’s Committee on Trauma Surgical Skills. The activities have earned him membership in the prestigious Masters of Surgical Educators.  In addition, he is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Trauma Society, Eastern Association of Surgery for Trauma and the Pan-American Trauma Society, among many others.   

Dr. Luk has delivered scores of presentations, published a variety of academic articles, and was co-editor of the book Advanced Trauma Operative Management: Surgical Strategies for Penetrating Trauma. He has traveled nationally and internationally, delivering talks on acute care surgery and teaching operative techniques in penetrating trauma. He has also developed or co-developed courses in Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM), Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET), and Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness (DMEP).

In 2009, he earned the Hartford Hospital Medical Staff Humanitarian Award. The following year, he received the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Outstanding Achievement in Student Teaching Award.

He has served as a trauma surgeon for the Garland Police department SWAT team and trained with multiple local police agencies and State Police agencies in Texas and Connecticut and the  Department of Homeland Security - Boarder Patrol.

Education

Medical School
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine (1987)
Internship
Scott and White Memorial Hospital (1988), General Surgery
Residency
Polyclinic Medcenter of Harrisburg (1994), General Surgery
Fellowship
Hartford Hospital (1997), Trauma Surgery
Residency
University of Connecticut School of Medicine (1999), General Surgery
Fellowship
University of Connecticut School of Medicine (2000), Surgical Critical Care

Research Interest

  • Advanced and chronic wound management
  • Surgical Education
  • Surgical efficiency

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Monthly Trauma Training and Simulation Are Associated With Improved Resident Skill and Leadership.
Park C, Lin IC, Grant JL, Dultz LA, Johnson D, Jeter S, Abdelfattah K, Luk S, Cripps M, Dumas RP, J Trauma Nurs 2022 Jan-Feb 01 29 1 29-33
Fast track pathway provides safe, value based care on busy acute care surgery service.
Kuhlenschmidt K, Houshmand N, Bisgaard E, Comish P, Luk SS, Minei JP, Cripps MW, J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2021 03 90 3 415-420
Using telemedicine on an acute care surgery service: improving clinic efficiency and access to care.
Parnell K, Kuhlenschmidt K, Madni D, Chernyakhovsky C, Donovan I, Garofalo K, Hambrick S, Scott DJ, Oltmann SC, Luk S, Surg Endosc 2020 Oct
Comparison of Appendectomy for Perforated Appendicitis With and Without Abscess: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Analysis.
Hester CA, Pickett M, Abdelfattah KR, Cripps MW, Dultz LA, Dumas RP, Grant JL, Luk S, Minei J, Park C, Shoultz TH, J Surg Res 2020 07 251 159-167
Does simulation work? Monthly trauma simulation and procedural training are associated with decreased time to intervention.
Park C, Grant J, Dumas RP, Dultz L, Shoultz TH, Scott DJ, Luk S, Abdelfattah KR, Cripps MW, J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2020 Feb 88 2 242-248
A comparison of cholecystitis grading scales.
Madni TD, Nakonezny PA, Imran JB, Taveras L, Cunningham HB, Vela R, Clark AT, Minshall CT, Eastman AL, Luk S, Phelan HA, Cripps MW J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2019 Mar 86 3 471-478
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy is Safe Both Day and Night.
Tseng ES, Imran JB, Nassour I, Luk SS, Cripps MW J. Surg. Res. 2019 Jan 233 163-166
Prospective validation of the Parkland Grading Scale for Cholecystitis.
Madni TD, Nakonezny PA, Barrios E, Imran JB, Clark AT, Taveras L, Cunningham HB, Christie A, Eastman AL, Minshall CT, Luk S, Minei JP, Phelan HA, Cripps MW, Am J Surg 2019 01 217 1 90-97
Prospective validation of the safety of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy training paradigm featuring incremental autonomy.
Madni TD, Barrios E, Imran JB, Taveras L, Clark AT, Cunningham HB, Christie A, Luk S, Phelan HA, Cripps MW Am. J. Surg. 2018 Oct
Laparoscopic Appendectomy: A Report on 1164 Operations at a Single-Institution, Safety-Net Hospital.
Dumas RP, Subramanian M, Hodgman E, Arevalo M, Nguyen G, Li K, Aijwe T, Williams B, Eastman A, Luk S, Minshall C, Cripps MW Am Surg 2018 Jun 84 6 1110-1116

Books

Featured Books Legend Featured Books

Honors & Awards

  • American College of Surgeons
    Master of Surgical Education membership (2018)
  • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
    Best medical student teaching award (2010)
  • Hartford Hospital Medical Staff Humanitarian Award
    (2009)
  • Physician Recognition Award with Commendations
    (2004)
  • Top Surgeons in America
    (2004)
  • Baylor University Medical Center, Five Star Spirit Award
    (2001)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • American Association for Surgery of Trauma
  • American College of Physician Executives
  • American College of Surgeons (2000)
  • American College of Surgeons Master of Surgical Education (2018)
  • American Medical Association
  • Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma
  • Pan American Trauma Society (2009)