The Future of Surgery Starts Before the OR

About this episode

This episode discusses the integration of lifestyle medicine into surgical care and the broader implications for whole-person health.

Welcome to another episode of Flip Your Script , a vodcast by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, hosted by ACLM President Dr. Padmaja Patel. In each episode, we explore five key takeaways on how lifestyle medicine is helping clinicians and leaders reimagine the future of healthcare. This episode, “The Future of Surgery Starts Before the OR,” features Dr. Michael Suk, a nationally recognized orthopedic trauma surgeon, physician executive, and pioneer in integrating lifestyle medicine into surgical care. As co-founder of Blue Zone Surgeons and co-editor of the forthcoming textbook Lifestyle Medicine and Surgery , Dr. Suk is helping redefine how clinicians think about perioperative care, recovery, resilience, and long-term health outcomes. The conversation explores why surgery should no longer be viewed as a single isolated procedure, but instead as part of a broader, longitudinal journey of whole-person health. Dr. Suk discusses the role of orthopedic surgeons as unexpected “quarterbacks” of whole-person care, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between surgeons and lifestyle medicine clinicians, and why surgical specialties are uniquely positioned to advance…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Padmaja Patel

Guest: Dr. Michael Suk

Topics covered

• lifestyle medicine
• surgery
• orthopedic care
• perioperative optimization
• healthcare innovation
• whole-person medicine

Keywords

• surgery
• lifestyle medicine
• perioperative care
• health outcomes
• interdisciplinary collaboration
• prevention-focused healthcare

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Blue Zone Surgeons

Books & works: Lifestyle Medicine and Surgery

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