Michael E. Lekawa
Biography
Michael E. Lekawa, M.D., FACS, is Professor of Clinical Surgery and Vice-Chair of Clinical Operations in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He received his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, and completed his surgical residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at UC Irvine Medical Center. Lekawa has served as Trauma Medical Director at UC Irvine Medical Center since 1997 and founded the Navy Military Civilian Partnership between UC Irvine, the U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps in 2018. His clinical expertise centers on trauma surgery and surgical critical care.
Lekawa has held numerous administrative positions at UC Irvine Medical Center, including serving as Chief of the Division of Trauma, Burns, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery from 1996 to 2022, and Director of Pediatric Trauma Services from 2011 to 2025. He has been actively involved in trauma systems development at the state and regional levels, serving on the Executive Committee of the Southwest Regional Trauma Coordinating Committee since 2009 and as Chair from 2022 to 2025. He received the highest national score on the Surgical Critical Care Board Exam in 1998 and has been recognized as a Best Doctor in America from 2011 to present.
Lekawa has been a principal or co-investigator on over two dozen clinical research grants and has authored or co-authored more than 125 peer-reviewed journal articles, primarily focused on trauma outcomes, critical care management, and injury prevention. He has served as an Associate Examiner for the American Board of Surgery and as a Trauma Surveyor for the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Verification Committee. His humanitarian work includes surgical mission trips to Guatemala, Haiti, Kenya, and Puerto Rico, and he serves as a board member of Doctors for Maria Relief.
Return to topEducation
- B.S. in Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside, 1985
- M.D., Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, 1990
Distinctions
- Best Doctors in America, 2011-2026
- ACS Committee on Trauma, Verification Subcommittee, 1997-2022
- Highest National Score, Surgical Critical Care Board Exam, 1998
- John E. Connolly Award for Outstanding Resident Teaching, 1999, 2007
- UC Irvine Medical Center Associates Development Award, 1997-1998
- OC Emergency Medical Services Meritorious Service Award, 2007
- OC Emergency Medical Services Leadership Award, 2007
- Orange County Physician of Excellence, 2008-2021
- LA County Sheriff's Department, Special Appreciation Award, 2006
- City of Los Angeles Certificate of Appreciation, 2008
Areas of Expertise
- Trauma Surgery and Critical Care
- Blunt Abdominal Injury Management
- Pediatric Trauma Systems
- Venous Thromboembolism Prevention
- Surgical Stabilization Rib Fractures
- Traumatic Brain Injury Outcomes
- Military Civilian Partnership Training
Recent Publications
- Nie J., Nahmias J., Lekawa M., Barrios C., Swentek L., Schubl S., Dolich M., Grigorian A., “Beyond Injury: Length of Stay and Rehabilitation Disparities in Houseless Trauma Patients” (opens in new tab), Journal of Surgical Research, vol. 323, pp. 102-109, 2026.
- Slaton J., Nahmias J., Aryan N., Lekawa M., O'Leary M.P., Smith B.R., Nguyen N., Grigorian A., “Association of Obesity With Respiratory Complications in Trauma Patients Undergoing Emergent Surgery” (opens in new tab), Journal of Surgical Research, vol. 322, pp. 298-304, 2026.
- Aryan N., Grigorian A., Nahmias J., Dolich M., Lekawa M., Nie J., Schubl S.D., “Impact of obesity on outcomes of surgical stabilization of rib fractures” (opens in new tab), Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, vol. 100, pp. 54-59, 2026.
- Michelle H., Grigorian A., Nahmias J., Lekawa M., Swentek L., Guner Y., Goodman L., Jebbia M., “Disparities among adolescent pregnant trauma patients” (opens in new tab), Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2026.
- Li JY, Nahmias J, Lekawa M, Dolich MO, Burruss SK, Park FS, Grigorian A, “Navigating Risk: A Comprehensive Study on Pedestrian-Vehicle Collision Factors” (opens in new tab), Journal of Surgical Research, vol. 305, pp. 322-330, 2025.
- Nahmias J., Stopenski S., Jebbia M., Atallah S., Kirby K.A., Alvarez C.A., Aryan N., Tay-Lasso E., Dolich M., Lekawa M., Swentek L., Santos J., Schubl S., Kuza C., Nguyen N., Grigorian A., “Dexmedetomidine for Analgesia in Nonintubated Patients with Traumatic Rib Fractures: A Randomized Clinical Trial” (opens in new tab), JAMA Surgery, vol. 160, pp. 1047-1056, 2025.
- Lee C., Nahmias J., Lekawa M., Fairbairn K., Grigorian A., “Video-Assisted Thoracoscopy in Pediatric Thoracic Trauma” (opens in new tab), American Surgeon, vol. 91, pp. 1368-1377, 2025.
- Lee C., Grigorian A., Rutledge R., Dolich M., Lekawa M.E., Aryan N., Barrios C., Nahmias J., “Increased Associated Risk of Surgical Site Infections in Trauma Patients Who Are Smokers” (opens in new tab), Journal of Surgical Research, vol. 312, pp. 221-226, 2025.
- Hegazi M., Nahmias J., Lekawa M., Dolich M., Kong A., Barrios C., Grigorian A., “Risk Factors and Timing of Fasciotomy for Isolated Pediatric Lower Extremity Trauma” (opens in new tab), American Surgeon, vol. 91, pp. 998-1005, 2025.
- Epstein L., Nahmias J., Schubl S., Inaba K., Matsushima K., Lekawa M., Dolich M., Grigorian A., “Emergency Department Placed Central Lines for Trauma Patients: A Retrospective Case-Control Study on Central Line–Associated Blood Stream Infection Risk From Central Lines Placed Emergently in the Emergency Department” (opens in new tab), Jacep Open, vol. 6, 2025.
Most Cited Publications
- Velmahos G.C., Toutouzas K.G., Radin R., Chan L., Demetriades D., Mullins R.J., Shatney C.H., Margulies D.R., Cryer G., Lekawa M.E., Tominaga G.T., Wisner D., Wilson S.E., “Nonoperative treatment of blunt injury to solid abdominal organs: A prospective study” (opens in new tab), Archives of Surgery, vol. 138, pp. 844-851, 2003.
- Malinoski D, Jafari F, Ewing T, Ardary C, Conniff H, Baje M, Kong A, Lekawa ME, Dolich MO, Cinat ME, Barrios C, Hoyt DB, “Standard prophylactic enoxaparin dosing leads to inadequate anti-Xa levels and increased deep venous thrombosis rates in critically ill trauma and surgical patients” (opens in new tab), Journal of Trauma Injury Infection and Critical Care, vol. 68, no. 4, pp. 874-80, 2010.
- Kong LB, Lekawa M, Navarro RA, McGrath J, Cohen M, Margulies DR, Hiatt JR, “Pedestrian-motor vehicle trauma: an analysis of injury profiles by age”, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, vol. 182, no. 1, pp. 17-23, 1996.
- Fox JC, Boysen M, Gharahbaghian L, Cusick S, Ahmed SS, Anderson CL, Lekawa M, Langdorf MI, “Test characteristics of focused assessment of sonography for trauma for clinically significant abdominal free fluid in pediatric blunt abdominal trauma” (opens in new tab), Academic Emergency Medicine, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 477-82, 2011.
- Wallace WC, Cinat M, Gornick WB, Lekawa ME, Wilson SE, “Nosocomial infections in the surgical intensive care unit: a difference between trauma and surgical patients” (opens in new tab), American Surgeon, vol. 65, no. 10, pp. 987-90, 1999.
- Lekawa M, Shapiro SJ, Gordon LA, Rothbart J, Hiatt JR, “The laparoscopic learning curve”, Surgical Laparoscopy and Endoscopy, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 455-8, 1995.
- Donnelly MR, Grigorian A, Swentek L, Arora J, Kuza CM, Inaba K, Kim D, Lekawa M, Nahmias J, “Firearm violence against children in the United States: Trends in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic” (opens in new tab), Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, vol. 92, no. 1, pp. 65-68, 2022.
- Malinoski D, Ewing T, Bhakta A, Schutz R, Imayanagita B, Casas T, Woo N, Margulies D, Barrios C, Lekawa M, Chung R, Bukur M, Kong A, “Which central venous catheters have the highest rate of catheter-associated deep venous thrombosis: a prospective analysis of 2,128 catheter days in the surgical intensive care unit” (opens in new tab), Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 454-60, 2013.
- Margulies DR, Lekawa ME, Bjerke HS, Hiatt JR, Shabot MM, “Surgical intensive care in the nonagenarian. No basis for age discrimination” (opens in new tab), Archives of Surgery, vol. 128, no. 7, pp. 753-6, 1993.
- Duong WQ, Grigorian A, Farzaneh C, Nahmias J, Chin T, Schubl S, Dolich M, Lekawa M, “Racial and Sex Disparities in Trauma Outcomes Based on Geographical Region” (opens in new tab), American Surgeon, vol. 87, no. 6, pp. 988-993, 2021.
Contact Information
Email: melekawa@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 456-5890
Address: Chapman Pavilion, Ste 6200
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Last updated on 5/15/2026.