Stephen R Eaton, MD

Dr. Stephen Eaton is a double board-certified surgeon who specializes in trauma, surgical critical care, emergency general surgery and general surgery, collectively known as the specialty of acute care surgery (ACS).

Dr. Eaton is a member of the acute care surgery team at The University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City. The surgeons of the ACS team work with students, residents, fellows, nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to provide comprehensive trauma and surgical care to patients who may arrive to the hospital through the Emergency Department or are met by our comprehensive surgical care team for elective general surgery.

As an acute care surgeon, Dr. Eaton cares for a vast array of surgical diseases, including gallbladder problems, appendicitis, bowel obstruction, abdominal and groin hernias, soft tissue injury or infection, as well as injury to the liver, spleen, intestines, ribs and lungs. Patients who require admission to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) remain under the care of acute care surgeons who are also board-certified in surgical critical care. In the SICU, acute care surgeons manage the ventilator (breathing machine) as well as medications to support blood pressure, antibiotics, pain and sedation. Acute care surgeons perform bedside procedures such as central line placement (large IVs), bronchoscopy (to clear the lungs), tracheostomy (surgically placed breathing tube) and gastric tubes (feeding tubes).

Acute care surgeons help coordinate the care of injured patients and may consult colleagues from other departments such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, vascular surgery or interventional radiology, depending on the type and severity of illness or injury. Acute care surgeons provide care for patients from hospital admission through hospital discharge and routinely see patients after a hospitalization.

Dr. Eaton is an associate professor of surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he has an added interest in abdominal wall reconstruction and complex general surgery cases. He also serves as the medical director of the surgical intensive care unit. He enjoys teaching medical students, residents and fellows. He is an active member in several national organizations committed to improving care for our patients.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) and his master’s degree in physiology from SIU. He graduated from medical school from Ross University in Barbados and completed his training in trauma and critical care at Washington University in St. Louis for a 2-year fellowship.

In his spare time, Dr. Eaton enjoys spending time with his wife and son. He is an avid bourbon collector and enjoys traveling with his family.