Ep 9: Jean Christophe

Global Scalpels: A Global Surgery Podcast

Every day 830 women die from pregnancy or childbirth related causes - that is over 330,000 per year. That is 830 mothers. 830 sisters. 830 wives. Lives lost, and families shattered. Sometimes these deaths come as a result of surgical complications, other times due to unsanitary conditions or infection, and still more due to severe bleeding that could easily be prevented if they had adequate access to healthcare. In addition to these 330,000 women, another 5.8 million die due to trauma related causes such as road traffic accidents. This is more than the total number of deaths that result from malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS combined!

What do these two major topics have in common? While mortality may seem to be an obvious answer, this is too far down the line. Prevention. Many of these deaths are completely preventable. Join us as we talk about the role of public health in tandem with surgical care and how surgeons and non-surgeons alike can help to advocate for better public health measures to prevent these deaths from occurring, rather than having to work with the ugly aftermath of a traumatic injury in the operating room. In this episode, we challenge the paradigm that surgical care only takes place behind closed doors and sterile drapes. It can also take place on the steps of the legislative government building through advocating for safer traffic laws or funding for family planning education.