Category: surgery

Life-changing surgery: Embracing my true self

An excerpt from Beautiful Monster: A Becoming. The day of the surgery we show up early to the small clinic. After a brief wait we are taken into the back, where the doctor draws a map of my body-to-be on my now-body, detailing the road to my new life. …

Learning health equity from activists: a paradigm shift for physicians

The practice of evidence-based medicine and lifelong learning are core tenets of medicine. Through courses, conferences, and lectures, physicians have regularly turned to their colleagues for continuing education. For decades, this reliance on physicia…

Inside the life of a transplant physician [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join David Weill, a pulmonary and transplant physician and author of Exhale: Hope, Healing, and a Life in Transplant. In this episode, we explore the emotional and ethical challenges faced …

Mental health matters: lessons from a surgeon’s journey [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Mohini Dasari, a general surgeon. She shares her personal journey through the demanding world of surgical training, touching on her experiences with mental health challenges, the diffi…

Navigating complex ICU conversations: a trauma surgeon’s perspective

An excerpt from All Bleeding Stops: Life and Death in the Trauma Unit ((Mayo Clinic Press, December 2023). Trauma surgeons, particularly in our roles as directors of a surgical intensive care unit, must frequently chat with families of critically ill p…

Cosmetic surgeons’ contribution to mental health

The global cosmetic surgery market has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years—in 2021, it was valued at $67.3 billion, and projections suggest it will reach a staggering $201 billion by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6 perce…

Innovations in surgical education [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Ruchi Thanawala, a cardiothoracic surgeon, as we explore the transformative power of technology in surgical training. Discover how innovation is reshaping the way we educate future sur…

Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

What is working? I often encounter variations of this question on social media. The response is frequently met with silence or lackluster positivity. I’ve engaged in conversations with numerous inspirational physicians who have shared their tales…

Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

One day, you find yourself on the edge, peering into the abyss. Then someone pushes you in. Welcome to the first day as a surgery intern. Few folks outside of medicine fully fathom the rigors a doctor must endure during post-graduate training. From the…

Exploring disfigurement and self-worth

An excerpt from Rearranged: An Opera Singer’s Facial Cancer And Life Transposed. In the usual post-op haze after reconstructive surgery, in a wide-open, multi-bed recovery room partitioned by wavy muslin walls, I heard one strangled sentence rise…