JOIN US FOR DECODE THE DOCS WEEK! We're revisiting our most popular episodes about medical word trivia. This is when our pro comics do the heavy lifting. Celebrate these heroes who keep you healthy and laughing with Team Dr Ben!

Medical words can sound like spells, pasta dishes, or something a doctor invented on the spot and that confusion is exactly what we’re fixing today. We’re Dr. Ben and Dr. Jennifer (a hospitalist), and we bring comedian Marcus Saputo into a game of “What the Heck?” where he has to pronounce real medical terminology and guess what it means before we translate it into normal human language.

-We break down pancytopenia (what it means when multiple blood counts are low) and why that matters for oxygen, infection risk, and bleeding.

-Then we get serious for a minute with pneumoperitoneum, the fancy term for free air in the abdomen, and why it can point to a perforated organ and a true emergency.

-We also hit onychomycosis (toenail fungus), proving that scary-sounding diagnoses aren’t always dangerous, just annoying.

-We round it out with hypernatremia (high sodium), plus idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), where we talk about platelets, clotting, and the not-so-comforting truth that “idiopathic” can mean the cause is unknown.

-Finally, we decode splenomegaly and what an enlarged spleen can mean, including why the treatment depends on the underlying problem.

Everyone is gonna wish Marcus was with them at their next checkup. He's the comedian every hospital should have on staff.

If you like comedy with real health education, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who hates medical jargon, and leave a review so more people can learn what these words actually mean.

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Jennifer: Internal Medicine, Hospitalist

Marcus Saputo: IG/TT/YT/FB @marcussaputo www.marcussaputo.com

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

JOIN US FOR DECODE THE DOCS WEEK! We're revisiting our most popular episodes about medical word trivia. This is when our pro comics do the heavy lifting. Celebrate these heroes who keep you healthy and laughing with Team Dr Ben!

A word can be funny until it’s on your chart. We’re turning the most intimidating oral and maxillofacial surgery terms into something you can actually understand, using a simple setup: Comedian Drew Davis takes a bold guess at what the term means, and Dr. Steve (our oral maxillofacial surgeon) explains the real definition with the kind of clarity you wish every appointment had.

We get into cleft lip repair and why timing matters for feeding and speech, then move into the big jaw-and-bite world of orthognathic surgery. Dr. Steve breaks down Le Fort fractures and the Le Fort osteotomy, explaining how surgeons use predictable midface patterns to classify trauma and also to plan elective jaw repositioning for dentofacial deformities and malocclusion.

We also connect it to the sagittal split osteotomy on the mandible, showing how upper jaw and lower jaw procedures work together to line teeth up and restore function.

Then we hit one of the wildest-sounding but most real techniques: distraction osteogenesis. We talk through how a controlled bone cut plus a device that advances tiny amounts each day can stimulate new bone growth, often in pediatric patients with small jaws that affect the airway.

We close with the sphenozygomatic suture, a key skull anatomy landmark that helps surgeons confirm a cheekbone is back where it belongs after facial trauma.

If you like medical terminology, anatomy, surgery stories, or just learning something useful while laughing, subscribe, share this with a curious friend, and leave a review. Which medical term should we decode next?

Thanks to our guests:

Dr Steve, oral maxillofacial surgeon

Drew Davis, Comedian, Founder Clean Comedy Collective

FB/IG/TT/YT: @drewdaviscomedy

https://drewdaviscomedy.com/

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

Join us for DECODE THE DOCS Week!

Most people hear a word like “anastomosis” and instantly feel like they missed a semester of medical school. We get it, so we turned that confusion into a game.

We’re joined by Adam, a surgical first assistant who works beside surgeons in the operating room, and Dr. Ben Sawyer, a history professor and stand-up comedian who’s brave enough to pronounce OR jargon on the fly and defend his wild definitions.

We break down what these terms actually mean in real clinical life, from anastomosis as the critical “reconnection” step after removing a diseased segment of colon, to laparoscopic cholecystectomy as the everyday name for minimally invasive gallbladder removal using ports and a camera.

Then we jump into the gear: the Bair Hugger warming blanket that helps keep patients at a safe body temperature during surgery, the Army Navy retractor that makes exposure possible, and electrocautery (the Bovie) for controlling bleeding.

We finish with one of the most satisfying tools to talk about: the surgical mallet and the bone work that makes orthopedics feel like carpentry with consequences, plus a few pop-culture detours that only a comedian historian would bring.

If you like smart comedy, healthcare stories, and learning surgical terminology without the snooze factor, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review. What’s the most confusing medical word you’ve ever heard?

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Adam: Surgical First Assistant

Podcast: Vassals of Kingsgrave

Dr Ben Sawyer: history professor, comedian, podcast and game show host

Podcast: The Road to Now

Game Show: Perfect Timing Game Show (live comedy)

IG: @SawyerComedy, @ptgameshow

X: @SawyerComedy

FB: PT Game Show

www.sawyercomedy.com

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.