About
Orthopedic Trauma Surgery and Complex Fracture Care
As an orthopedic trauma surgeon, I specialize in treating severe, complex injuries to the musculoskeletal system. I treat acute injuries such as those sustained in motor vehicle collisions and falls, as well as chronic conditions like bone infections or poorly healing bones. Ultimately, my goal is to help my patients recover from their traumatic injuries and restore their prior function and movement.
These injuries can range from requiring immediate surgical attention to being a chronic, ongoing issue requiring management for years. It is a profound experience to meet people when they are injured, frightened, and in pain. There is never a good time to sustain a traumatic injury, but it is my privilege to utilize my training to help minimize my patient’s pain while optimizing their recovery.
Specialized Care for Complex and Traumatic Injuries
As a traumatologist, I treat patients with a wide spectrum of injuries, both acute and chronic. Some injuries may require immediate emergent surgery, whereas other injuries may need to be treated in stages. As a result, I evaluate patients with more acute injuries in the emergency room and hospital, while I see patients with more chronic conditions and follow-up appointments in the clinic setting.
I chose to pursue a fellowship in traumatology to gain more skills and experience treating challenging injuries. These complicated injuries include fractures involving the pelvis and hip joint and complex fractures around joints. Gaining skills in treating these complicated injuries and caring for patients with multiple musculoskeletal injuries has always been one of the most important and rewarding parts of my job.
A Patient-Centered Approach to Orthopedic Trauma Care
As a trauma surgeon, not only is there a wide variety of injuries that I take care of but also many different patients. So it is important to me as a care provider to involve each patient and their family in the decisions regarding their treatment. I work to listen to each patient’s story, including the activities they are trying to return to. Considering their injuries and goals, we develop the treatment plan together that is best for that patient.
I understand that every patient reacts differently to injuries and has different recovery goals. Thus, it is important to me to meet that patient “where they are.” Listening and communicating openly and compassionately allows me to understand my patient’s goals, which is the key to developing a strong relationship and ultimately successful treatment. As a physician and care provider, developing these meaningful lifelong relationships with every patient is the most rewarding part of my job.
Get to Know Dr. Chris Bejcek
I spend most of my free time with my wife, an OB/GYN physician, and family since my mother, brother, sister, and aunt also live in Minnesota. We love to try new restaurants, go hiking, and spend time on the water. I like to fish and hunt, and I enjoy land management, caring for our family’s property to preserve wildlife habitat. I also love to garden and cultivate my bonsai. I am an avid reader, enjoying many genres. I recently ran a marathon and love to exercise.
I was born in St. Paul, and although I grew up in Michigan, I have always loved Minnesota. Many of my family members have lived in Minnesota over the years so I frequently visited the state. I am thrilled and excited to be moving back to the Twin Cities to join the Summit Orthopedics community.
Specialties
Specialties
Locations
My Team
Additional Information About Dr. Kersten LW Schwanz
Education, Memberships, & Awards
Education
Fellowship
OrthoIndy Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship
Indianapolis, Indiana
July 2026 — August 1, 2025
Residency
Orthopaedic Surgery Residency
Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine
Springfield, IL
July 2020 — June 2025
Medical School
Central Michigan University College of Medicine (CMED)
Mount Pleasant, MI
August 2016 — May 2020
Undergraduate Studies
Dual Major: Microbiology & Genomics and Molecular Genetics
Minor: Bioethics, Humanities, and Society
Michigan State University: Lyman Briggs Residential College
East Lansing, MI
August 2011 — May 2015
Professional Memberships
- Illinois State Medical Society Member, 2023-Present
- Orthopaedic Trauma Association Candidate Member, 2023-Present
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Resident Member, 2020-Present
- American Orthopaedic Association Member, 2020-Present
Awards & Honors
- J&J Med Tech Travel and Tuition Grant, 2025
- OneAO Travel and Tuition Grant, 2024
- 1st place poster presentation, Stauffer Research Day, June 2023
- 3rd place podium presentation, Stauffer Research Day, June 2021
- Family Medicine Core Rotation: Honors, 2019
- Surgery Core Rotation: Honors, 2018
- Obstetrics & Gynecology Core Rotation: Honors, 2018
- Pediatric Core Rotation: Honors, 2018
- Psychiatry Core Rotation: Honors, 2018
- Hospital Medicine Core Rotation: Honors, 2018
- Travel Grant: AMSA Poster Presentation, 2018
- Student Interest Group Most Events Hosted Award, 2018
- Student Interest Group Networking Advocacy Award, 2018
- Student Interest Group Appreciation of Service Award, 2018
Certifications
- Stryker Pelvic Fellows Course, November 2025
- Zimmer Approaches to Pelvic Fractures Course, September 2025
- AO Trauma – Advanced Principles of Fracture Management Course, May 2025
- Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) Foundations in Arthroscopy Course,
- October 2022
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), January 2024
- Basic Life Support (BLS), January 2024
- AO Trauma – Basic Principles of Fracture Management Course, November 2021
- Residents as Teachers (RATS) Course, September 2021
- Mock Root Cause Analysis (RCA), April 2021
- OTA Virtual Comprehensive Resident Fracture Course, September 2020
Volunteer Experience
- SIU Medical Student Orthopaedic Interest Group Leader, Springfield, IL: Organized and led the interest group for medical students, 2021-2025
- Middle School Sports Physicals Physician, Lincoln, IL: Performed free school sports physicals for adolescents, July 2022
- Casting and Splinting Class Instructor, Springfield, IL: Instructed nurses, medical assistants, residents, and nurse practitioners on proper application of basic casts and splints, 2021-2025
- U6 Boys Assistant Soccer Coach, Saginaw, MI: Coached and mentored U6 boys soccer team, 2019
- CMED Street Medicine Volunteer, Saginaw, MI: Provided medical care to homeless individuals staying at the local rescue mission, 2019
- Hospitality House Volunteer, Saginaw, MI: Helped clean and maintain local hospitality house for home hospital, 2019
- CMED Dean’s Ambassador, Mount Pleasant, MI and Saginaw, MI: Selected to formally represent the student body and school at various events, 2017-2021
- Medical Scribe, Scribe America, Ypsilanti, MI: Documented and observed patient encounters with physicians, 2015-2016
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Volunteer, Lansing, MI: Mentored boys in the Lansing area, 2013- 2020
Publications and Projects
- “A meta-analysis of the use of intraoperative fluoroscopy in total hip arthroplasty – does it facilitate proper implant placement?”: pending review in Arthroplasty Today, 2023
- “A Comparison of the Synthes Femoral Neck System and Traditional Three Cannulated Screws for the Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures”: pending review in Injury, 2023
- “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopaedic Cases in Emergency Department”: accepted in Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances, 2023
- “Femoral Neck System, a Review of the Literature”: accepted in Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances, 2023
- “The Use of Curved Internal Fixation Devices in Adult Pelvic Fractures: Short-Term Clinical Outcomes”: published in Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma, 2025
- “Environmental Impact of TKA: Waste Audit of Hospital Operating Room Compared to Ambulatory Surgery Center”: published in The Journal of Orthopaedics, 2025
- “The History of Orthopaedic Use of Nitinol Compression Staples”: published in Injury, 2023
- “Metabolic Abnormalities Underlying Nonunion in the Adult Fracture Patient”: published in Journal of Orthopaedics, Trauma and Rehabilitation, August 2023
- “Robotic Arm-Assisted Total Hip Arthroplasty to Correct Leg Length Discrepancy in a Patient with Spinopelvic Obliquity”: published in Arthroplasty Today, December 2020
- “An Antibiotic Depleted Microbiome Drives Severe Campylobacter jejuni-mediated Type 1/17 colitis, Type 2 Autoimmunity, and Neurologic Sequelae in a Mouse Model”: published in Neuroimmunology, December 2019
- “Transplanted Human Fecal Microbiota Enhanced Guillain-Barré Syndrome Autoantibody Responses after Campylobacter jejuni Infection in C57BL/6 mice”: published in Microbiome, August 2017
Posters and Presentations
- “The Use of Curved Internal Fixation Devices in Adult Pelvic Fractures: Short-Term Clinical Outcomes”: OTA video presentation, October 2024
- “Environmental Impact of TKA: Waste Audit of Hospital Operating Room Compared to Ambulatory Surgery Center”: Mid-Central States Orthopaedic Society podium presentation, May 2024
- “Environmental Impact of TKA: Waste Audit of Hospital Operating Room Compared to Ambulatory Surgery Center”: SIU Trainee Symposium podium presentation, April 2024
- “A Comparison of the Synthes Femoral Neck System and Traditional Three Cannulated Screws for the Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures”: SIU Resident Research Day poster presentation, April 2024
- “Environmental Impact of TKA: Waste Audit of Hospital Operating Room Compared to Ambulatory Surgery Center”: SIU Resident Research Day poster presentation, April 2024
- “Comparison of Outcomes Using One or Two Distal Interlocking Screws with the Femoral Neck System”: SIU Resident Research Day podium presentation, April 2024
- “Environmental Impact of TKA: Waste Audit of Hospital Operating Room Compared to Ambulatory Surgery Center”: SIU QI Symposium poster presentation, April 2024
- “A Comparison of the Synthes Femoral Neck System and Traditional Three Cannulated Screws for the Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures”: Mid-America Orthopaedic Association annual meeting podium presentation, April 2024
- “Environmental Impact of TKA: Waste Audit of Hospital Operating Room Compared to Ambulatory Surgery Center”: Stauffer Research Day poster presentation, June 2023
- “A Comparison of the Synthes Femoral Neck System and Traditional Three Cannulated Screws for the Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures”: Stauffer Research Day podium presentation, June 2023
- “Metabolic Abnormalities Underlying Nonunion in Adult Fracture Patient”: Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation podium presentation, October 2022
- “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopaedic Cases in Emergency Department”: SIU Trainee Research Day podium presentation, April 2022
- “A Comparison of the Synthes Femoral Neck System and Traditional Three Cannulated Screws for the Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures”: Stauffer Research Day poster presentation, June 2022
- “Oh, Snap! A Review of Bone Health and Osteoporosis”: SIU School of Medicine OBGYN Grand Rounds Guest Lecturer, May 2022
- “Robotic Arm-Assisted Total Hip Arthroplasty to Correct Leg Length Discrepancy in a Patient with Spinopelvic Obliquity”: Stauffer Research Day poster and podium presentations, June 2021
- “Uniting Medical Students in Pre-Clinical and Clinical Years”: American Medical Student Association (AMSA) National Convention poster presentation, March 2018
- “A Guide to Registering for Medicare”: Central Michigan University School of Medicine Forum poster presentation, April 2017
- “Anti-ganglioside IgG Autoantibodies in Peripheral Nerves of C. jejuni Infected Mice”: MSU University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) poster presentation, April 2015
Research Experience
- Research Assistant: Central Michigan University College of Medicine, Mount Pleasant, MI, 2017
- Investigated hyperlipidemia diagnosis on outcomes of West Nile Virus infection.
- Advisor: John Clements, PhD
- Research Assistant: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 2014-2016
- Studied Campylobacter jejuni’s role in Guillain-Barré syndrome.
- Advisor: Linda Mansfield, PhD, DVM
- Research Intern: Vestaron Corporation, Kalamazoo, MI, 2013
- Developed spider venoms as novel insecticides and performed husbandry of insects.
- Advisor: Catherine Foune, MS
- Research Assistant: Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 2012
- Produced nanowires and tested their efficacy for several different applications including antibacterial activity.
- Advisor: Sherine Obare, PhD
- Volunteer Research Assistant: Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 2010-2011
- Performed DNA isolation, plasmid preparations, and gel electrophoresis for use in oncological investigations.
- Advisor: Bruce Bejcek, PhD
