Harold K. Dunn, M.D.
Dr. Harold K. Dunn has distinguished himself in the areas of adult reconstruction and spine deformities. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Dunn has been an active participant in orthopaedic professional organizations and has pursued an active role in orthopaedic research.
Born September 24, 1937 in Carlsbad, New Mexico, Dr. Harold K. Dunn spent his early years in Artesia, New Mexico, where he worked on the family ranch and was riding and roping from an early age. Dr. Dunn reluctantly agreed to one year of college at New Mexico A & M on a calf-roping scholarship, hoping to join the professional rodeo circuit. A fortuitous class with a chemistry professor led him to realize he liked science. He started thinking about a career in medicine, and the rest, as they say, is history.
After completing his undergraduate studies at Texas Christian University, Dr. Dunn attended Baylor Medical School, completed an internship at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, a residency at the University of New Mexico and Baylor, interspersed with a stint as a surgeon for the United States Army during the Viet Nam War. Dr. Dunn arrived at the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1969 as an instructor, to learn from Dr. Sherman S. Coleman in the small Orthopaedic Division of the Department of Surgery.
In the ensuing years, Dr. Dunn had distinguished himself in the areas of adult reconstruction and spine deformity. He has been instrumental in the development of implants and surgical techniques for hip and knee replacement and spinal stabilization systems. He has spoken about his specialties all over the world. Dr. Dunn had became recognized and sought after within the local orthopaedic community, the University Hospital and the School of Medicine as a leader who could focus on a problem and develop realistic ideas. On the national level, Dr. Dunn became heavily involved in national scientific and professional organizations and held many leadership positions in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Association, and many others. In November of 1994, Dr. Dunn was named as the first recipient of the Louis S. Peery, M.D., Presidential Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery, which he still holds.
The University of Utah Orthopaedic Residency began in 1957 under Dr. Coleman's direction, and together, Drs. Coleman and Dunn developed it into the well-respected residency it is today, with a component of 25 residents through five years of training. In 1981, through a gentleman's agreement with Dr. Coleman, Dr. Dunn took over the chairmanship of the Division of Orthopaedics. By 1991, there were 12 faculty members, and by 1995, Dr. Dunn had successfully made the case for departmental status. Dr. Dunn's clinical practice also grew during these years, and his patients learned that they could expect respect and compassion from him, as well as technically correct medical decisions and superb surgical skills. To his co-workers, Dr. Dunn was unfailingly a gentleman in all situations.
The dream of a free-standing, independent orthopaedic center began to ferment in Dr. Dunn's mind in about the mid-1990s. He knew that his vision of attracting and retaining faculty representing all eight subspecialties in Orthopaedics depended upon a premier facility. Getting from an idea to architectural plans, to glass and bricks, demanded the utmost political acumen with the University and Hospital administration and a dedication to making this venture a win-win situation for Hospital and faculty alike.
By 2004, Dr. Dunn continued to chair the Department of Orthopaedics, which included 30 faculty members, 16 residents, and 10 fellows, and after actively pursuing the dream of a premiere orthopaedic facility, the groundbreaking for the University Orthopaedic Center had taken place with completion due in the fall.
In October 2005, the University of Utah Orthopaedic Center had successfully celebrated its first year of service to the community. The $36 million, 105,000 square-foot, four-story facility in Research Park provides comprehensive orthopaedic services to patients, which include five surgical suites, seven in-patient rooms, a PACU, all orthopaedic physical therapies, including a therapy pool, exam rooms, MRI, three radiology suites, an orthopaedic library, administrative offices, billing offices, resident and fellow study carrels, a full-service pharmacy, several conference rooms, a 5,000 square-foot research lab, and a small bistro. The achievement of this free-standing facility is the fruition of a 20-year dream of Dr. Dunn's.
In 2004, Dr. Dunn announced his desire to step down as chair, after 24 years. Following a national search for a qualified individual to replace him as chair, Dr. Dunn stepped down as chair of the Department of Orthopaedics on November 1, 2005.