How a Hand Surgeon Helped Save Fingers: The Life and Work of James R. Urbaniak

James R. Urbaniak was an American orthopedic hand surgeon at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He served as chief of orthopaedic surgery and taught many residents and fellows. He was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, in 1936. He died on July 18, 2026, at age 90.

In the 1970s he helped start Duke’s replantation team and used an operating microscope to repair fingers and hands. He wrote many scientific papers and helped create a way to classify ring avulsion injuries, now called the Urbaniak classification. His work helped surgeons save injured fingers and return patients to work.