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.

On today’s episode of Deep Cuts: Exploring Equity in Surgery, we have a conversation with Dr. Annie Polcari, Dr. Franklin Cosey-Gay, and Violence Recovery Specialist Kenny White about the Trauma Violence Recovery Program at the University of Chicago Medical Center. We discuss historical factors that have contributed to inequity in our community, what victims of traumatic injury experience in the hospital, and what opportunities for growth there still are for the program. Throughout, we highlight the importance of community contributions to the recovery journey of our patients.

Dr. Annie Polcari is a graduate of the General Surgery Residency Program at the University of Chicago. She received her Medical degree and Master’s Degree in public health from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She also received a Master’s Degree in Global Health from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Polcari is looking forward to a career in trauma and acute care surgery and is now pursuing her fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Franklin Cosey-Gay is the executive director for community and external affairs for the Urban Health Initiative at the University of Chicago, and he is the former director of the Center for Youth Violence Prevention. He studied at the University of Illinois Chicago, where he received his Master’s and Doctorate degrees. He focuses on implementing prevention programs and building community connections.

Kenny White is a Violence Recovery Specialist at the University of Chicago and a Qualified Mental Health Professional. He also serves as a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Consultant with US2 Consulting, and has done extensive work accompanying families and victims after they have suffered intentional violence.

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 editor and production coordinator is Nihar Rama. Our senior producers are Alia Abiad, Caroline Montag, and Chuka Onuh. Our production team includes Megan Teramoto and Ria Sood. Our editorial team includes Beryl Zhou and Daniel Correa Bucio. 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.

If you liked this episode, please leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts. And let us know — what have you most enjoyed about our podcast? Where do 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.