Division of Acute Care, Trauma & Burn Surgery

Daniel Holena, M.D., MSCE, is the Chief of the Division of Acute Care, Trauma, and Burn Surgery and serves MUSC Health as the Trauma Systems Lead. He is a fellowship-trained trauma and emergency general surgeon who treats patients with life-threatening injuries and urgent surgical conditions.

Dr. Holena trained at some of the country's busiest academic medical centers, where he gained extensive experience managing critically ill patients. He completed his general surgery residency at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and a trauma and surgical critical care fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a master's degree in clinical epidemiology, which helps him improve care by focusing on outcomes that matter most to patients.

Brittany Bankhead, M.D., MS, is a double-board certified trauma and general surgeon and a surgical intensivist. Dr. Bankhead's leadership extends beyond her clinical practice. She currently is currently the chair of the Associate Membership Committee of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. She also serves on the Editorial Board for Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Open and Impact Surgery. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Texas at Austin and her fellowship in surgical critical care at Harvard Medical School.

Evert Eriksson, M.D., is a general surgeon who specializes in injuries to the chest wall as well as complex hernia repair. He is an internationally recognized leader in in chest wall trauma, has been appointed President of the Chest Wall Injury Society (CWIS) for the 2025–26 term. Over ten years ago, Dr. Eriksson began improving the operative and non-operative management of rib and sternal fractures at MUSC. Through research at MUSC and in conjunction with the Chest Wall Injury Society, he has decreased patients’ pain and improved their recovery.

In addition to chest wall injury care, his hernia practice consists of thoracic and abdominal wall hernias. Dr. Eriksson offers both open and laparoscopic repair of ventral and flank (side) hernias. He has performed several complex ventral hernia repairs with the addition of botox therapy to relax the muscles. He also specializes in traumatic hernias from injury and manages costal margin injuries that are a special type of hernia that involves the abdomen and chest.

Heather Evans, M.D., MS, is a Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of Veterans Affairs in the Department of Surgery. She serves as the Chief of Surgery at the Ralph H Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Evans is a general surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive hernia (rupture) surgery. She has performed laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs (TEP) since 2009 and now routinely performs robotic-assisted laparoscopic repairs for groin, umbilical and ventral hernias.

Dr. Evans earned her medical degree from the University of Rochester and completed her general surgery residency at the University of Virginia. She attended UW to finish her training in surgical critical care and trauma at Harborview Medical Center.

Adria Johnson, M.D. is a fellowship-trained surgeon at the South Carolina Burn Center and is double board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care. She treats both pediatric and adult burn patients between the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital and MUSC University Hospital.

Dr. Johnson grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and obtained her undergraduate degrees and medical degree at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. She completed general surgery residency in Portland, Maine at Maine Medical Center where she was inspired to further subspecialize in burn surgery and surgical critical care. She then completed a burn/critical care fellowship in Galveston, Texas at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Children's Texas.

Steven Kahn, M.D., is the Chief of Burn Surgery at MUSC. He led the team that established the South Carolina Burn Center at MUSC, which opened in 2020. The South Carolina Burn Center cares for patients of all ages and is the only inpatient burn center in the state of South Carolina. Dr. Kahn is regarded as an expert and a national leader in both pediatric and adult burn care.

Dr. Kahn's main research interests are centered around firefighter safety, burn resuscitation, health economics, smoke inhalation injury, non-opiate pain control, wound healing, regenerative medicine, and burn reconstruction.

Mike M. Mallah, M.D., is a double-board certified fellowship-trained trauma and acute care surgeon who specializes in the care of both critically ill patients and patients with traumatic injuries. He is also a general surgeon experienced in minimally invasive procedures to treat patients with hernias and other complex general surgery issues.

Dr. Mallah has as a strong interest in global surgery and surgical education and serves MUSC as the Director of the Global Surgery Program. He has operated on five continents and traveled to over 55 countries. Not only did this work expose him to pathology and surgical technique not often seen or practiced in the United States, but it also allowed him to gain an understanding about barriers and lack of access to safe surgical and anesthesia care.

Dr. Mallah earned an undergraduate degree in Biology with a Chemistry minor and his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then completed General Surgery Residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC and a Trauma/Surgical Critical Care fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University's Level I Trauma Center in Richmond, VA.

E. Douglas Norcross, M.D., is a fellowship-trained trauma and critical care surgeon in Charleston, South Carolina. He and his colleagues take care of trauma patients and those in need of emergency general surgery for conditions like acute appendicitis. In addition, Dr. Norcross' practice includes the care of surgical patients in the Intensive Care Unit.

Dr. Norcross received his residency training at Cooper Hospital - University Medical Center and his fellowship training at the Southern New Jersey Regional Trauma Center at Cooper Hospital - University Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Alicia Privette, M.D., is a fellowship-trained trauma and acute care surgeon who specializes in the care of both critically ill patients and patients with traumatic injuries. She has extensive knowledge of how to manage complex injuries and delivers compassionate care to help her trauma patients through their journey of recovery. Dr. Privette is also a general surgeon experienced in minimally invasive procedures to treat patients with hernias and other complex general surgery issues. She is recognized as a leader in trauma care.

Dr. Privette serves the Medical University of South Carolina as the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program Director. She is also an instructor in Advanced Trauma Life Support Training, and mentors surgical residents on trauma/critical care issues and fellowship opportunities. Her research focuses on various aspects of trauma and critical care, including improving patient care coordination through the development of a smart phone application to streamline communication and teamwork during trauma care.

Dr. Privette received her medical degree from the University of Utah. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Vermont and attended the University of California San Francisco for her fellowship training in trauma and critical care.

Cynthia Talley, M.D., is a Professor with Tenure in the MUSC Department of Surgery as an Acute Care Surgeon and currently serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Medical Education and ACGME Designated Institutional Official (DIO) in the College of Medicine. She joined MUSC in 2018. She received her medical degree from the University of Tennessee in Memphis, followed by General Surgery Residency from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Her Surgical Critical Care and Trauma Fellowship was completed at Vanderbilt University. She also completed a Surgical Education Research Fellowship from the Association for Surgical Education. Dr. Talley is board certified by the American Board of Surgeons in General Surgery and Surgery Critical Care.

Dr. Talley’s special interests are Trauma Surgery and Education. On a national level, Dr. Talley has contributed to several organizations: Board Member of Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST), Chair of the Young Fellows Association (YFA) Governing Council for the American College of Surgeons (ACS), State Vice-Chair for the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the ACS, and President and Governor of the South Carolina Chapter of ACS.