Deborah Ann Kuhls, MD FACS

Dr. Kuhls is a Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean for Research at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, Division of Acute Care Surgery Chief, Chief of Trauma at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Nevada's only ACS verified Adult Level I Trauma Center and Nevada's only ACS verified Pediatric Trauma Center. She is Second Vice President-elect of the American College of Surgeons and is immediate past chair the Injury Prevention and Control Committee of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT), which has embarked upon a medical/public health approach to firearm and violent injuries during her tenure. She is a Fellow of the ACS and ACCM was awarded Honorary Fellowship in The Royal College of Surgery of Thailand in 2012. She is Immediate Past Chair of the Surgery Section of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and she serves on the Prevention and Disaster Committees of the AAST and is the Immediate Past Chair of the Trauma Prevention Coalition, a coalition of 14 organizations devoted to injury prevention. She course directs ATLS, DMEP and ASSET courses and was a founding national faculty for the ASSET course, which trains surgeons on rapid exposure to potentially lethal injuries. Honors include the 2016 Surgeons’ Award for Service to Safety from the National Safety Council, SCCM Presidential Citation for Service, Nevada Regents Academic Advisory Award, Outstanding Clinical Faculty Award, Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Society and Las Vegas Top Doctors by Seven. She completed an ASE Surgical Education Research Fellowship and Drexel University’s Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellowship (ELAM). She is Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV’s representative to the AAMC’s Group on Women in Medicine, and she advises the local chapters of AMWA and AWS. She has authored peer-reviewed articles on injury and violence prevention, firearm injury prevention, disaster preparedness, the care of critically injured patients and medical education.

Abdomen and Digestion Disorder/Procedure

• abdominal pain
• adhesion removal
• appendectomy
• feeding tubes
• peptic ulcer disease
• peritonitis
• splenectomy

Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas Disor/Proc

• biliary tract disease
• cholecystectomy
• gallstone disease
• laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Trauma/Injury Procedures

• abdominal injuries
• abdominal wall reconstruction
• amputation
• bladder injury
• blunt trauma
• cardiac injury
• chest injuries
• cricothyroidotomy
• extremity injury
• female reproductive tract injury
• foot/leg injury
• hand/arm injury
• intestine injuries
• kidney injury
• liver injury
• lung resections
• neck injuries
• skin grafting
• stomach injuries
• thyroidectomy
• tracheotomy
• vascular injuries
• wound debridement

University Medical Center

Las Vegas, NV

Attending

08/2000—Present

University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

Reno, NV

Professor

08/2000—06/2017

University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Medicine

Professor

07/2017—Present