For Immediate Release
October 25 , 2025
Mark W. Woolf, MD Receives 2025 AAHKS Lawrence D. Dorr, MD
Humanitarian Award
Oct. 24, 2025 (Dallas, TX) – During the 2025 American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) Annual Meeting, AAHKS member Mark W. Woolf, MD, received the prestigious Lawrence D. Dorr, MD Humanitarian Award. This award was presented to Dr. Woolf in recognition of his faithful service as a mission team leader and lead surgeon with Faith In Practice since 2006.
Through Faith In Practice, Dr. Woolf has participated in many short-term medical missions to Guatemala providing knee replacement surgery to underserved patients over the last 20 years. That work has consisted of two or three trips each year, recruiting 40+ volunteers of orthopaedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, physical therapists and support staff. Generating monetary and in-kind donations in excess of 1.5 million dollars, the funds were used for implants, medicines and supplies. It’s estimated that Dr. Woolf has performed more than 500 total knee replacement surgeries and cared for 700+ patients in the screening clinics of Guatemala.
Although Dr. Woolf is now retired, he is serving Guatemalan patients in a different way. Today, he provides care to patients by serving the medical clinic missions. With this transition, Dr. Woolf is able to continue his passion of serving patients in Guatemala while also expanding his impact within Faith In Practice. He also serves as a board member and sits on several Faith In Practice committees.
“Surgeons like Dr. Mark Woolf, the 2025 Humanitarian Award recipient, set himself apart because, with his healing hands, he restores not only health but also mobility, dignity, and hope. To the AAHKS membership, a call to action, follow Dr. Mark Woolf’s example and volunteer your time to help those in need,” says Kevin B. Fricka, MD.
Dr. Woolf graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and completed his internship and residency at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
The Lawrence D. Dorr, MD Humanitarian Award recognizes AAHKS members who have distinguished themselves by providing humanitarian medical services and programs with a significant focus on musculoskeletal diseases and trauma including the hip and knee in the United States or abroad.
For more information on the Lawrence D. Dorr, MD Humanitarian Award, please go to www.AAHKS.org/Humanitarian.
About the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons
Established in 1991, the mission of AAHKS is to be the definitive global authority on excellence in hip and knee care. AAHKS has a membership of over 5,500 surgeons and other hip and knee health care professionals.
Contact:
Kenneth Robinson, Communications Manager
KRobinson@AAHKS.org
