Why Cultural Context Matters When It Comes to Bariatric Surgery — Dr. Mustafa Husain and Dr. Harry Wong

Deep Cuts: Exploring Equity in Surgery

English - February 28, 2022 20:30 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 16 ratings
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Today, Dr. Mustafa Hussain & Dr. Harry Wong, 2 bariatric surgeons, discuss the overlaps between food deserts, culture, and bariatric surgery. Food deserts are locations where residents have few to zero convenient options for accessing healthy, affordable food, frequently stemming from a larger history of economic neglect. On the other hand, bariatric surgeries are those which help patients lose weight. Many of our patients on the South Side of Chicago live in food deserts, which can lead to an increased risk for obesity.

In this episode, they challenge misconceptions about foods from communities of color which paint them as unhealthy, discuss how healthy foods are often understood through a white, European lens, what happens in the months spent with patients prior to offering them bariatric surgery, and how our evolutionary biology is mismatched with our modern society’s food system.

Dr. Mustafa Hussain is an Associate Professor of Surgery and the Director for the Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity at UChicago Medicine. He has advanced training in bariatric surgery, expertise in all standard primary weight loss surgeries, and works closely with the surgical oncology team to expand the use of minimally invasive approaches in the surgical treatment of certain cancers. Dr. Hussain has also pioneered the use of robotic surgery to treat abdominal wall, diaphragmatic and paraesophageal hernias.

Dr. Harry Wong is a 4th year general surgery resident at UChicago Medicine and a graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He has written on topics ranging from simulation-based curriculums for surgical procedures to maintaining safety standards during surgeries.

“Deep Cuts: Exploring Equity in Surgery” comes to you from the Department of Surgery at UChicago Medicine. Our host is Dr. Jen Vigneswaran. Our senior producer is Tony Liu. Our podcast cover art comes to you from Pombie Silverman, episode art from Sam Higgins, and music from Sen Morimoto off of Sooper Records.

Find more about our work at surgery.uchicago.edu.