Minimally invasive spine surgery
A clinical foundation in precision, efficiency, and disciplined execution.
Founder · Innovator · Investor · Philanthropist
Healthcare systems architect.
From a physician's foundation: building healthcare platforms, advancing new models, and sharing systems thinking across longevity and human performance.
20+Years architecting
healthcare systems
healthcare systems
20+Locations built
and operated
and operated
MDPhysician-led
perspective
perspective
The operating record
For more than 20 years, Sung Won, MD has built and scaled healthcare systems. He pioneered minimally invasive spine surgery, founded vertically integrated care platforms, and operated across more than 20 locations. That experience now informs his work in healthcare systems, longevity, and human performance.
Integrated delivery
- Primary care
- Surgical care
- Imaging
- Rehabilitation
- Innovative care
Next-generation platforms
- Longevity & performance
- Pain management
- Orthopedic & spine surgery
- Neurology
- Mental health
What Dr. Won Does
Three disciplines, one operating system.
01 · Performance
Longevity & Performance
Systems-based education on brain function, cardiovascular health, energy, and long-term performance. This is practical education, not wellness marketing. Explore Longevity as a System and Insights. Related physician-led care is available through RegenLUX; Neogevity Life advances longevity education.
02 · Advisory
Healthcare Platform Advisory
For organizations and investors: vertically integrated models connecting clinical care, diagnostics, and operations into efficient, high-performing systems. Read Vertical Integration in Healthcare and The Future of MSO Strategy.
03 · Track record
A Track Record Built on Scale
Dr. Won has built and operated primary care, urgent care, multispecialty clinics, surgical hospitals and centers, imaging, emergency care, and rehabilitation across more than 20 locations. Read From Operating Rooms to Boardrooms.
About
Physician. Founder. Healthcare systems architect.
Sung Won, MD is a physician, founder, innovator, investor, philanthropist, and healthcare systems architect. His work spans physician-led platforms, longevity education, and the operating models that connect ideas to execution.
With over 20 years of experience building and scaling healthcare systems, his work has centered on creating vertically integrated models that connect clinical care, diagnostics, and operations into efficient, high-performing platforms.
He believes most people are underperforming not because of a lack of effort, but because their health isn't optimized. His work is about closing that gap, one system at a time.
Healthcare systems architect. Physician at the foundation.
01
Early Career — Surgical Innovation
Part of the first wave of surgeons advancing minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery, an experience that shaped how he thinks about systems, efficiency, and long-term impact, not just clinical outcomes.
"There was only one person I was going to have perform my surgery, and that was Dr. Won. He's had a profound and lasting impact on my life. I'm living better and longer because of his care." — Robert Behrend, former patient
02
Proof of Concept — Minimally Invasive Spine Institute (MISI)
Founded Minimally Invasive Spine Institute (MISI) in Dallas, a vertically integrated spine center combining clinical care, an imaging center, physical therapy, and a surgery center under one model—an early proof of concept for the integrated platform approach he would later scale nationally.
03
Building at Scale — Lumin Health & Accel Spine
Founded and led Lumin Health, a physician-driven, vertically integrated system that grew to 7 urgent care and primary care clinics, 5 freestanding emergency centers, 2 imaging centers, 2 physical therapy and rehabilitation centers, multi-specialty surgical clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, and surgical hospitals. Alongside it, founded Accel Spine, a medical device company focused on developing minimally invasive spine instruments and implants.
04
Current Focus
Building LUX Healthcare, a management company developing and growing specialty care platforms, SpineLUX, MindLUX, NeuroLUX, ImagingLUX, and RegenLUX, with additional specialties in development. More on the discipline behind that model, in Never Leave Well Enough Alone.
Clinical foundation
A clinical foundation.
A systems future.
Years in the operating room forged the precision, discipline, and systems thinking behind everything that followed.
Then → now
Clinical precision became operating discipline. That discipline carried from minimally invasive spine surgery into integrated healthcare platforms. Today, it shapes Dr. Won's work in healthcare systems, longevity education, investment, and philanthropy.
Professional archive · Dr. Won does not currently perform surgery.
Training & Credentials
Trained under some of the field's most recognized names.
Education
Doctor of Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston — Distinguished Honor Graduate, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Graduate
Northwestern University — Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Graduate
Harvard University
Residency
Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine / Barnes-Jewish Hospital — Chief Resident
Residency Director: Lawrence G. Lenke, MD
Fellowships
Spinal Deformity Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine — Keith Bridwell, MD & Larry Lenke, MD
Cervical Spine & Microscopic Surgery, William Beaumont Hospital — Fellowship Director: Harry N. Herkowitz, MD
Nutrition
Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate, eCornell, Cornell University
Patents
US 8,439,923 B2 — Poly-Axial Pedicle Screw Assembly (2013)
US 8,382,809 B2 — Poly-Axial Pedicle Screw Implements and Lock Screw Therefor (2013)
Selected Publications
Won DS, Herkowitz HN. Posterior Surgical Approach to Cervical Radiculopathy. The Spine, Rothman and Simeone, 5th ed. (book chapter)
Kuklo TR, Lenke LG, Won DS, et al. Spontaneous Proximal Thoracic Curve Correction Following Selective Fusion of the Main Thoracic Curve in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. Spine, 2001.
Kuklo TR, Lenke LG, Graham EJ, Won DS, et al. Correlation of Radiographic, Clinical and Patient Assessment of Shoulder Balance Following Fusion Versus Non-fusion of the Proximal Thoracic Curve in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. Spine, 2002.
Rhee JR, Bridwell KH, Won DS, Hanson D. Sagittal Plane Analysis of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: The Effects of Anterior vs. Posterior Instrumentation. Spine, 2002.
Ventures
The platforms, not just the pitch.
LUX Healthcare
The management company developing and growing SpineLUX, MindLUX, NeuroLUX, ImagingLUX, and RegenLUX, with additional specialties in development.
SpineLUX Pain & Ortho
Interventional pain management, orthopedic and spine surgery, neurology, imaging, and home health.
MindLUX
Telehealth mental health counseling, the behavioral health arm of the same integrated model.
NeuroLUX
Neurologist-led diagnosis of concussion, traumatic brain injury, and post-concussion syndrome, with objective testing and advanced imaging, within the LUX Healthcare platform.
ImagingLUX
Diagnostic imaging supporting the specialty care platforms. In development.
RegenLUX
Regenerative medicine and wellness clinic services focused on longevity and optimal health, delivered by our physician team.
Philanthropy & Global Impact
Applying the same discipline off the clock.
Medical Missions in Peru
Dr. Won has led multiple surgical mission trips to Peru, providing care for high-complexity cases, including pediatric scoliosis, adult spine deformities, and spinal cancer, for underserved communities in resource-limited settings. The work reflects the same operating principle behind every platform he's built: care shouldn't depend on where you happen to live. More on the responsibility that comes with this work, in Global Surgical Missions and the Responsibility of Medical Leadership.
The same systems thinking applies at the individual level. Longevity isn't a supplement stack, it's daily infrastructure: what's in the grocery cart, how consistently it's trained for, how well it's measured.
Sung Won, MD Scholarship, through Irving School Foundation
For 15 years, Dr. Won has partnered with Irving School Foundation on an endowed scholarship for high-achieving students with significant financial need who are committed to academic excellence and community service.
Dr. Won presents the scholarship to recipient Sofie Magaña at an Irving School Foundation event.
Keynote · Irving Schools Foundation
Education is
infrastructure.
At the Irving Schools Foundation’s 30th Annual Breakfast with the Stars scholarship awards ceremony, Dr. Won served as keynote speaker.
Speaking and media details
Education & mentorship
Mentorship
in practice.
Dr. Won mentoring elementary students during a hands-on classroom learning experience.
What Others Say
From colleagues, mentees, and patients.
"Dr. Won stands out as the most exceptional spine surgeon I've worked with. His approach is meticulous and methodical, making even the most complex procedures look effortless. He consistently went above and beyond to make sure his patients received the highest level of care."
Franklin Cheng, MDAnesthesiologist"Shadowing Dr. Won, I saw a doctor who genuinely cared about his patients' wellbeing and always made sure they understood their own care. Now, as a Ph.D. student, his mentorship still shapes how I approach learning."
Harrison WuFormer Mentee, Ph.D. Student"I've always found Dr. Won to be dependable, honest, and extremely well regarded among his peers. I've seen firsthand his passion for serving the community and helping people regain their health."
Meera DalkaCommunity MemberFrom the Blog
Latest writing.
August 2026
Your Nervous System Is a Performance System
Chronic stress measurably blunts the training adaptations you're working for. HRV, vagal tone, and why recovery physiology matters.
August 2026The Case for Heat: What the Evidence Actually Says About Sauna and Longevity
Sauna isn't a wellness trend, it's a dose-response finding. The actual frequency, temperature, and duration behind the cardiovascular data.
August 2026VO2 Max: The Fitness Number That Predicts How Long You'll Live
One number reflects heart, lungs, blood, and mitochondria at once, and it tracks with mortality better than almost anything else.
Get in Touch
Let's talk.
Whether you want to talk about longevity and performance, explore a platform partnership, or connect on media and speaking, tell us a bit about what you're working on.