Dane Wukich, M.D.

Prosthetics and Orthotics
Foot & Ankle Conditions
Foot & Ankle Surgical Treatments

Biography

Dane K. Wukich, M.D., M.Sc., is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Prosthetics-Orthotics and a Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He also serves as the Associate Dean for Innovation and Advancement at the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions.

Dr. Wukich held the endowed Dr. Charles F. Gregory Distinguished Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center from 2016 to 2024.

Dr. Wukich has published over 210 manuscripts and 14 textbook chapters exploring 34 topics. His Scopus H-index is 48, and he has been listed as the first or a senior corresponding author on 53% of his publications. He served as co-editor of the fifth edition of The Foot in Diabetes, published in 2020. His scholarly work has been cited 8,782 times, and he has lectured in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

In 2017, Dr. Wukich received the Roger E. Pecoraro Award from the American Diabetes Association, recognizing a researcher who has made scientific contributions and demonstrates an untiring commitment to improving the understanding of the detection, treatment, and prevention of diabetic foot complications. In 2019, he received the Paul Brand Award, presented at the Desert Foot Conference, which recognized his contribution to excellence in diabetic foot care. Dr. Wukich has also been honored with the MedStar Georgetown University Distinguished Achievement Award in Diabetic Limb Salvage, which recognized his contributions to education, surgery, and scholarship in this field.

His active clinical practice involves caring for underserved patients at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and military veterans at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He serves as the Medical Director of the Parkland Foot and Ankle Service.

He graduated with honors in 1978 from Carnegie Mellon University, where he received the Ribosome Award. He received his medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1982 and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. After completing a general surgery internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1983, he was deployed to the Federal Republic of Germany and served an orthopedic preceptorship for two years at the 5th General Hospital Bad Cannstatt. He returned to the United States and completed his orthopedic residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1989. He then practiced general orthopedics for 14 years before completing an orthopedic foot and ankle fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in 2004. Dr. Wukich then began working at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he rose to the rank of professor at the School of Medicine.

Dr. Wukich has performed approximately 100,000 outpatient assessments during his career. Since completing his fellowship, he has performed more than 16,000 surgical procedures on patients with foot and ankle problems.

Dr. Wukich is a member of multiple professional societies and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Association, and a member of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. He is the immediate past President of the International Association of Diabetic Foot Surgeons.

He also currently serves on the Editorial Board of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) Guidelines. He chairs the IWGDF’s Working Group for Guidelines on Charcot Neuroarthropathy and is on the Editorial Board for the IWGDF Offloading Guideline Group.

Dr. Wukich is a decorated U.S. Army veteran and combat medic. He served in Iraq as chief of orthopaedic surgery for the 5th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; in Stuttgart, West Germany, during the Cold War (5th General Hospital Bad Cannstatt); and at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Womack Army Medical Center) caring for the 82nd Airborne Division, the 18th Airborne Corps, and the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets). He is the recipient of two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, two Overseas Service Ribbons, the National Defense Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal. Over the past two decades, Dr. Wukich has served and treated military veterans, initially at Pittsburgh’s VAMC and now in North Texas.

He has completed several programs in executive physician leadership education and serves as an executive and professional coach for leaders in healthcare. He holds a Master of Science in leadership and organizational development from the University of Texas at Dallas and has completed programs through the Harvard School of Public Health (Program for Chairs of Clinical Services), Deloitte Consulting LLP and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Physician Leadership Academy), and the Center for Healthcare Management at the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Dr. Marshall Webster Physician Leadership Program).

Personal Note

Dr. Wukich and his wife, Beverly, have been married for 47 years and are the proud parents of daughter Alexis and son Nicholas. They have five grandchildren.

Meet Dr. Wukich

Foot and Ankle Specialist in Dallas, Texas

Dane Wukich, M.D., is a nationally renowned foot and ankle clinician and researcher, who is recognized internationally for his work in limb salvage, management of diabetes-related complications, and education.

As a practicing physician and former Chair of UT Southwestern’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Wukich uses his expertise to help people regain functionality after injury or illness.

Serving Those Who Serve

Dr. Wukich attributes much of his surgical skill to his military service as an army doctor.

He served as a chief of orthopaedic surgery for the 5th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and later cared for the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg. From early in his career, Dr. Wukich cared for soldiers with traumatic injuries to the foot and ankle. Because he also took care of retired veterans and the families of active-duty soldiers, he gained extensive experience treating diabetes-related complications in the foot.

Dr. Wukich says foot and ankle surgery, perhaps more than most orthopaedic subspecialties, requires collaboration with experts in many fields of medicine.

“As a result of taking care of people with diabetes, I often work with endocrinologists, vascular surgeons, plastic surgeons, podiatrists, and other specialists. Because of my interest in spastic foot and ankle deformities in patients with traumatic brain injury and stroke, I interact with specialists from physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology and physical therapy.”

He also works closely with faculty members across every orthopaedic specialty at UT Southwestern.

“It’s exciting to get to look at the big picture of orthopaedics every day – my own specialty as well as the upper extremities, back, hips, knees.” He says his ongoing work with other specialists broadens and shapes his perspective, both as a physician and as a leader.

Dr. Wukich left his hometown of Pittsburgh to lead the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern because he saw it as a center of excellence that was ready to leap to the next level.

“I was particularly attracted to UT Southwestern because of the enthusiasm of the administration, the orthopaedic faculty, the residents, and the alumni. All the great building blocks were here to create a world-class department in a great city.”

Function Is the Key to Health

Orthopaedics is devoted to restoring function and mobility, which Dr. Wukich notes is critical to a patient’s overall health. He is proud to lead an orthopaedic department that is comprehensive in its ability to address any functional problems in the body.

“At UT Southwestern we can take care of any part of your body, head to toe,” he says. “As a specialty, orthopaedic surgery also provides care for every age group.”

As a foot and ankle surgeon, Dr. Wukich treats patients with foot and ankle injuries related to trauma or to overuse, as well as people with foot complications related to the growing epidemic of diabetes. He also works with people who have lower extremity-related problems that are secondary to stroke and traumatic brain injury.

Many of his patients with overuse injuries are over age 50.

“The term athlete no longer just applies to the 20-somethings,” he notes. “It may be the 60-year-old tennis player, the 70-year-old trying out for a triathlon. Or it could be that 80-year-old couple who choose dance for their aerobic activity.”

As our population ages, Dr. Wukich says we will see more and more age-related orthopaedic problems.

“Arthritis goes along with being older. Overuse issues go along with being older,” he says. “And we know that when people maintain their activity level, it benefits their overall health. Our goal is to allow people to be able to participate in the activities they like to do, and to stay active and healthy as they mature and age,” he says.

The spirit of service is at the heart of Dr. Wukich’s approach to medicine.

“What I’m most proud of as a physician is my military service as an army surgeon,” he says. “It’s been meaningful to come to a place like Texas where there’s such wonderful support for our veterans.”

Although he has retired from the army, Dr. Wukich still sees his role as one of service to his country.

“UT Southwestern is committed to creating the best orthopaedic care possible, not only for the citizens of North Texas, but also for the entire United States."

Education & Training

Medical School - Georgetown University School of Medicine (1978-1982)
Fellowship - Cleveland Clinic Foundation (2003-2004), Foot & Ankle Surgery
Residency - Walter Reed Army Medical Center (1985-1989), Orthopedic Surgery
Internship - Walter Reed Army Medical Center (1982-1983), Surgery

Honors & Awards

D Magazine Best Doctor 2021-2022
Orthopaedic Surgeon to Know, Becker's Health 2023

Books & Publications

Publications
- Reply to Coutinho Schechter and Kempker.
  Lavery LA, La Fontaine J, Crisologo PA, Wukich DK, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2020 Jun 71 1 242
- The Infected Diabetic Foot: Re-evaluating the Infectious Diseases Society of America Diabetic Foot Infection Classification.
  Lavery LA, Ryan EC, Ahn J, Crisologo PA, Oz OK, La Fontaine J, Wukich DK, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2020 Apr 70 8 1573-1579
- Erratum to: What are the Optimal Cutoff Values for ESR and CRP to Diagnose Osteomyelitis in Patients with Diabetes-related Foot Infections?
  Lavery LA, Ahn J, Ryan EC, Bhavan K, Oz OK, La Fontaine J, Wukich DK, Clinical orthopaedics and related research 2020 Apr 478 4 923
- A Biomechanical Examination of Prefabricated Total Contact Cast Kits: Relevance to Patients With Diabetic Neuropathy.
  Ersen A, Lavery LA, Monga A, Richardson M, Schwarz B, Quiben MU, Garrett AG, Flyzik M, Wukich DK, Yavuz M, The international journal of lower extremity wounds 2020 Mar 1534734620914440
- Surgery for the diabetic foot: A key component of care.
  Frykberg RG, Wukich DK, Kavarthapu V, Zgonis T, Dalla Paola L, Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews 2020 03 36 Suppl 1 e3251