An Italian surgeon who has spent more than two decades treating obesity in the operating room spent last week in Manhattan trying to keep people from needing him at all.
Dr. Pasquale Mugione, who leads bariatric surgery at Monaldi Hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in Naples, was among a group of Italian physicians who traveled to New York from Oct. 8 to 12 for Campus Salute, a nonprofit health-prevention program founded in Naples. The program offered free educational sessions and one-on-one prevention consultations at La Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi, a bilingual Italian-American school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Bariatric surgery covers procedures such as gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, which reduce the size of the stomach to treat severe obesity. Mugione has performed more than 2,000 operations over his career. Yet his message in New York focused on what happens long before surgery: what families eat, how children learn to think about their bodies, and when to talk to a doctor.
That message has particular resonance in the United States, where about 40 percent of adults have obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mugione opened the week on Oct. 8 with a session for students ages 12 to 16 titled “Your Body, Your Team: Health, Food and Well-Being, Let’s Talk About It Without Fear.” The next day he joined a public panel at the school, “Health Is a Family Affair,” on prevention, nutrition and longevity across generations. He shared the stage with Annamaria Colao, an endocrinologist at the University of Naples Federico II, and with Dr. Domenico Veneziano, a urologist at the BronxCare Health System.
On Oct. 11, Mugione and other specialists in endocrinology, nutrition, urology and dentistry met members of the public individually, free of charge. Organizers stressed that the sessions were educational and did not replace a visit with a personal physician. Screenings were offered only by health professionals licensed in New York State.
At Monaldi Hospital, part of the Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli health system in Naples, Mugione coordinates primary and revisional bariatric surgery at a center recognized as a center of excellence by SICOB, the Italian Society for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Diseases. He also leads the hospital’s clinical pathway for patients being evaluated for metabolic surgery. He holds a doctorate in biotechnology and digestive surgery and teaches at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli.
Campus Salute, which means “Health Campus” in Italian, was founded in Naples in 2010. It sets up temporary prevention clinics in public squares and underserved neighborhoods, and organizers say it has provided more than 150,000 free checkups in Italy. The organization holds special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Its New York program, now in its second year, coincided with Columbus Day weekend, when the city traditionally celebrates its Italian American community.
The physicians’ work was recognized on Oct. 10 at Carnegie Hall during the Italian Reputation Award, an annual ceremony honoring people who strengthen Italy’s reputation abroad. Campus Salute President Pasquale Antonio Riccio presented a special recognition to the participating doctors. This year’s honorees included Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, healthcare executive Tino Ruta, University of Naples Federico II Rector Andrea Mazzucchi, and Valter Quercioli, national president of Federmanager, Italy’s association of industrial executives.
On Oct. 12, Campus Salute marched up Fifth Avenue in the Columbus Day Parade alongside students from La Scuola d’Italia and the award’s honorees.