In this episode of Deep Cuts, we hear from Dr. Courtney Cripps, a surgeon who specializes in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Chicago. Dr. Cripps details her journey to surgery, and specifically surgery in gender-affirming care. In talking to Dr. Anthony Douglas, she discusses how gender-affirming care encompasses medication, surgery, and psychological therapy, which allows it to be a continually evolving field. Dr. Cripps also discusses the immediate impact that gender-affirming care can provide people, and considers the intersection of policy within her medical practice.

Dr. Courtney Cripps is a surgeon and Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago. She completed a residency in plastic surgery at New York University and is double board-certified in both plastic and general surgery. She also serves as the director of the Resident Cosmetic Clinic at the University of Chicago. Her clinical expertise lies in gender affirming facial, chest, body, and genitourinary reconstruction, and she is passionate about patient care and the education of resident physicians.

Deep Cuts comes to you from the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago, which is located on Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi land. Our senior editors are Alia Abiad, Caroline Montag, and Chuka Onuh. Our editorial team includes Megan Teramoto, Elizabeth Yearsley, Faiza Shaik, and Azeem Saifee. Our senior producer is Nihar Rama. Our production team includes Krupa Hegde. The intro song you hear at the beginning of our show is “Love, Money Part 2” from Chicago’s own Sen Morimoto off of Sooper Records. Our cover art is from Ethan Epstein. Special thanks to Dr. Tony Liu, our founding producer/editor. If you’ve liked this podcast, please leave a rating, comment, and review wherever you get your podcasts. Please reach out to us as well — let us know what have you most enjoyed about our podcast, and where you see room for improvement. You can reach out to us on Instagram @deepcutssurgery. Find out more about our work at deepcuts.surgery.uchicago.edu.

What happens when the patient and the surgeon sit down together?

In this episode of Deep Cuts, we hear from Chloe, a gun violence survivor, and Dr. Ken Wilson, the trauma surgeon at UChicago medicine who fought to save her life. Their conversation is raw, honest, and deeply human — a reminder that behind every statistic is a name, a story, and a community that feels the weight of gun violence every single day.

Kenneth Wilson, MD, has more than a decade of experience as a trauma, acute care and critical care surgeon for both adult and pediatric patients. He treats all related conditions, including giant ventral hernias, a condition that can occur after abdominal trauma and requires an extremely complex surgical approach.

Dr. Wilson is an active researcher, and has been widely published on topics including military trauma and trauma surgical outcomes. He is interested in the association between race and socioeconomic status on trauma-related health outcomes.

Deep Cuts comes to you from the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago, which is located on Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi land.

Our senior editors are Alia Abiad, Caroline Montag, and Chuka Onuh. Our editorial team includes Megan Teramoto, Elizabeth Yearsley, Faiza Shaik, and Azeem Saifee.

Our senior producer is Nihar Rama. Our production team includes Beryl Zhou and Krupa Hegde.

The intro song you hear at the beginning of our show is “Love, Money Part 2” from Chicago’s own Sen Morimoto off of Sooper Records. Our cover art is from Ethan Epstein.

Special thanks to Dr. Tony Liu, our founding producer/editor.

If you’ve liked this podcast, please leave a rating, comment, and review wherever you get your podcasts. Please reach out to us as well — let us know what have you most enjoyed about our podcast, and where you see room for improvement. You can reach out to us on Instagram @deepcutssurgery. Find out more about our work at deepcuts.surgery.uchicago.edu.

In this episode of Deep Cuts: Exploring Equity in Surgery, Dr. Brandon Baird provides an overview of ENT, or ear, nose, and throat surgery. We discuss key aspects of the specialty, from management of polyps to advanced head and neck cancers. We also touch on disparities in cancer care and the importance of speech and swallow pathologists. Finally, we examine which populations lack access to ENT care and the reasons behind these barriers.

Brandon Jackson Baird, MD, is a laryngeal surgeon specializing in a wide range of laryngeal diseases with an emphasis on medical and surgical management of voice and swallowing disorders. He completed residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University and fellowship at Harvard University – Massachusetts General Hospital.

As a trained singer himself, Dr. Baird understands the importance of expert laryngeal care, and he has the skill and experience to treat professional voice artists for voice conditions. Dr. Baird has a subspecialty focus in medical and surgical management for singers with phonotraumatic vocal fold pathology, like nodules and polyps. While at Massachusetts General Hospital, he also trained under Dr. Steven Zeitels, the laryngeal surgeon credited with treating professional performers Steven Tyler, Sam Smith and Adele.

As a dedicated researcher, Dr. Baird is identifying and developing novel biotechnology within the field of laryngeal surgery. Additionally, Dr. Baird is evaluating and investigating minimally invasive treatment options for early laryngeal cancer

Deep Cuts: Exploring Equity in Surgery comes to you from the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago, which is located on Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi land.

Our senior production coordinator is Nihar Rama. Our production team also includes Beryl Zhou and Daniel Correa Bucio. Our senior editors are Alia Abiad, Caroline Montag, and Chuka Onuh. Our editorial team also includes Megan Teramoto and Ria Sood. The intro song you hear at the beginning of our show is “Love, Money Part 2” from Chicago’s own Sen Morimoto off of Sooper Records. Our cover art is from Leia Chen. Special thanks to Tony Liu, our founding producer/editor.

If you’ve liked this podcast, please leave a rating, comment, and review wherever you get your podcasts. Please reach out to us as well — let us know what have you most enjoyed about our podcast, and where you see room for improvement. You can reach out to us on Instagram @deepcutssurgery. Find out more about our work at deepcuts.surgery.uchicago.edu.