Michael G. Franz, MD, is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Section of General Surgery. Research interests include wound healing and tissue engineering. In that capacity, he is on the faculty for the University of Michigan's recently extended NIH training grant in plastic surgery and wound healing.

Dr. Franz received his bachelor degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and a medical degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville. Postgraduate training in General Surgery occurred at the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital, the Moffitt Cancer Center and the Tampa and Bay Pines, FL VA Medical Centers. Dr. Franz also completed a two-year surgical research fellowship during his residency studying the molecular regulation of cellular growth and differentiation. He joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2000.

Dr. Franz's clinical practice is focused in the areas of general and gastrointestinal surgery. He has special expertise in minimally invasive surgery, hernia surgery and wound management. Surgical interests include advanced laparoscopy including laparoscopic management of hernias, tumors of the abdominal cavity and gastrointestinal tract and abdominal wall reconstruction. The University of Michigan Comprehensive Hernia Center is a collaborative clinical effort between the University of Michigan general and plastic surgery services providing state-of-the art diagnostic and surgical management of primary abdominal wall hernias and referral services for complicated acute wounds of the abdominal wall including incisional hernias, GI and GU fistulas, acute wound failure, and surgical complications associated with mesh implants.

Dr. Franz has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles addressing wound healing problems in surgery, and wrote the chapters on Wound Healing and Hernias and the Abdominal Wall for the latest edition of Complications in Surgery and The Biology of Wound Healing for the Surgical Clinics of North America. Dr. Franz is an acute wound-healing consultant to several editorial boards and a member of the board of directors of the Wound Healing Society.