Integrative Surgical Care… DEFINED!!!
A few years ago I realized that, as a surgeon focused only on surgical problems, I was actually NEGLECTING THE PATIENT. Like, wow. What a revelation…! Diving deeper and learning about holistic and functional medicine, I realized that my patients would do better with surgery if I addressed the way that disease, injury, symptoms, surgery, and recovery affected their mind, body, and spirit. In talking to patients, friends, and colleagues, I felt that this approach would help any and all surgical patients anywhere in the country. And thus, Integrative Surgical Care LLC was created, with a focus on the new concept of Surgical Wellness, i.e. care of the WHOLE surgical patient.
The Tenets of Surgical Wellness
Applying concepts of wellness, holistic, and functional medicine to the surgical patient and experience, the tenets of Surgical Wellness became:
Sleep
Pain control
Inflammation
Microbiome
Diet
Stress management
So what exactly is Integrative Surgical Care?
Integrative Surgical Care is a patient-centered surgeon-run wellness company. Acting as the bridge between eastern and western medicine, we aim to optimize emotional, physical, and spiritual care of the whole patient. There are three main ways this is accomplished, with different levels of surgical patient participation depending on how much the patient wants to engage in their surgical wellness journey.
First is the educational component. Lots of information (and growing!) on general surgical wellness topics, general surgical wellness suggestions for any operation and any patient, surgery-specific suggestions, links to great products and helpful sites. Ultimately I hope to have meal plans and simple recipes, contributing authors from various disciplines of wellness, and even a moderated group where people can give each other suggestions that worked for them! I’ve reserved a website for that and its called www.surgeryready.club so that’s a future project once the rest is up and going.
Second is the supplement Surgery Ready, with the vitamins, minerals, and amino acid every patient (and I mean every patient!) needs for best wound healing inside and out. I manufactured this when I was unable to find a supplement that fit my patient’s needs, and realized that there was little available to optimize a patient's health without putting them at risk during surgery. I’m proud of it so check it out here!
Third is personalized consultation and coaching with our Surgical Doula and Surge Into Surgery package. Needing and having surgery is a very tough time in any person’s life. Talking directly with an expert in surgical wellness who will lead any surgical patient through the trials and tribulations of life before, during, and after surgery, helps decrease the burden and anxiety of the patient. By taking on some of the hardship, the patient can focus on other important aspects of overall surgical wellness that will improve how he/she/it/they do after surgery. These sessions are one hour long. The patient can choose from one or several sessions or participate in the Surge into Surgery package which supports the patient in the most comprehensive way possible.
It is my hope that, one day, all surgery patients will receive the attention and care that they need. Simple changes can have big complex benefits! Feel free to learn more about those simple suggestions you can use or pass on to your friends and family! There are a lot to choose from!
