Maggie (Host): Welcome to Stoughton Health Talk. I'm your host, Maggie McKay. Today we're going to get to know general surgeon Dr. Sarah Gandy. Thank you so much for being here today.

Sarah Pergande, DO: Hi. Thanks Maggie. It's great to be here.

Maggie (Host): So what is your background? Where did you go to school, et cetera?

Sarah Pergande, DO: background, I'm a board certified general surgeon, skilled in open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgeries. I am native to Wisconsin, so this is home for me. And I did my training in New York City for residency. I did a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery and bariatrics in Morgantown, West Virginia. I did go to medical school at Des Moines University as well,

Maggie (Host): And what do you find most rewarding about your work as a surgeon?

Sarah Pergande, DO: I enjoy providing a wide range of general surgery treatments and operations. So, at Stoughton Health I'm glad to provide, a full range of procedures including abdominal wall reconstruction, hernia repairs, inguinal hernia repairs, treatment for gallbladder disease, colon cancer, breast cancer as well as, uh. a multitude of other services, including upper and lower endoscopy.

So I do EGS and colonoscopies. I also am able to offer in clinic procedures such as treatments for skin and soft tissue lesions, both benign and cancerous. So.

Maggie (Host): Wow, that covers a lot of ground, doctor. I had no idea. How do you approach patient care and building trust?

Sarah Pergande, DO: in my credentials, you'll notice I am a do, which means I'm a doctor of osteopathic medicine and surgery. And so, my osteopathic training really helped me to take a holistic approach to patient care, really paying attention to structure and function. And because everything, the body has a relationship, right?

And as such I like to take the least invasive approach to surgical options to achieve the best possible outcomes. And additionally I incorporate into that optimizing patients for their recovery as well. 'cause the goal is to get back to as many normal lifestyle behaviors as you can, right? And so, really focus in on that recovery as well for patients.

Maggie (Host): What's one thing you wish patients understood better about surgery or healthcare?

Sarah Pergande, DO: With regards to healthcare, I think we do more sick care than we do healthcare. I wish we did more optimizing patients and really achieving those goals of, healthy living, healthy lifestyles. So, uh, think it's a little bit of a misnomer. We do, we do more. Sick care than we do healthcare but nobody wants to find themselves in need of a surgeon.

And I think one of the most underrated commodities we have is our health.

Maggie (Host): It sounds like you don't have a lot of free time with all that work, but outside of medicine, when you do have time, what are your hobbies or passions?

Sarah Pergande, DO: Yeah, I like to dabble in healthy cooking, nutrition. I do enjoy fitness and getting out in nature in Wisconsin, so, while I am inside a lot I like to get out, get some fresh air and, go explore.

Maggie (Host): How fun. Is there anything else in closing that you'd like people to know about you?

Sarah Pergande, DO: just kind of one fun fact is that I am bilingual. I am fluent in both English and German. I learned German from kindergarten on and. Even did language and culture studies in college. So, that's one of my background components as well as I do speak Spanish, but it's basic Spanish skills and I picked that up just so I could communicate with my patients.

I think building that rapport and those relationships are so important. If there's a language barrier there, it's very hard to. Communicate with the patients uh, individuals directly or their family members. And so, I think it makes a world of difference to be able to have that communication skill.

Maggie (Host): Absolutely. Why German? Do you have German family members?

Sarah Pergande, DO: I went to the Milwaukee German Immersion school. That was a program that I started out, like I said, in kindergarten. But I do have German relatives. My uncle lives in Germany, have some more distant relatives that live in other parts of Germany, so I've been able to maintain those ties.

Maggie (Host): that's so cool. Well, thank you so much for sharing with us today. This has been a lot of fun.

Sarah Pergande, DO: I've enjoyed it very much. Thank you so much for having me.

Maggie (Host): Again, that's Dr. Sarah Gandy, and if you'd like to find out more, please visit stoughton health.com. I'm Maggie McKay. Thank you for listening to Stoughton Health Talk, a podcast from Stoughton Health.