Expertise in Gastrointestinal Surgery Plus Emergency Surgery and Wound Care
We are very pleased to spotlight Melany C. Hughes, MD, MPH, assistant professor of surgery, a leader in general surgery, endoscopic, and wound care services at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital (SBELIH) in Greenport.
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Dr. Hughes came to Stony Brook Medicine in 2018 from Guam Memorial Hospital Authority (GMHA), the largest hospital on the Pacific island of Guam, the westernmost point and territory of the United States. She practiced at GMHA for three years as a general surgeon and served as founding director of the wound care service. Board certified in surgery, Dr. Hughes focuses her practice at SBELIH on the management of a range of abdomen and digestion disorders, on elective and urgent hernia surgery, and on surgery for soft tissue disorders, as well as wound care management. She is skilled at minimally invasive laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures. In addition to elective surgery, Dr. Hughes is a specialist in acute care surgery. She manages the emergency general surgery service both at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) and at SBELIH, which provides emergency care for the 20,000 people who live on the North Fork, plus the vast number of vacationers there in the summer months. |
Among the conditions and treatments in which Dr. Hughes has expertise are:
- Gastrointestinal surgery
- Emergency general surgery
- Acute care surgery
- Minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery
- Diseases of the liver, spleen, upper/lower gastrointestinal systems
- Laparoscopic appendectomy
- Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery
- Hernia repairs (laparoscopic and open)
- Colonoscopy
- Feeding tubes
- Benign skin and soft-tissue tumors
- Traumatic injuries
- Wound care
Dr. Hughes strives to practice “socially conscious” general surgery, and she explains:
“My training and medical/surgical practice over the past 15 years has made it clear to me that an individual can make a profound difference in the lives of others just by caring and by being trained with the medical knowledge, healing arts, and technical skills needed to make a difference.”
“I feel that human health, well-being, and disease outcomes are inexorably impacted by the environment and access (or lack thereof) to resources.
“I believe very strongly that health, longevity, and disease outcomes should not be solely reflective of personal wealth. Simple and complex surgical procedures and access to medications for acute and chronic disease processes should not be available only to insured and wealthy patients.
“There are so many ‘cures’ for diseases, simple surgical procedures, and health maintenance practices that never reach those most needy of such interventions. I want to do my part to help provide them.”
“My practice at SBELIH aims to serve the entire community on the North Fork, using all the resources here, as well as those of the larger Stony Brook Medicine network.”
Education and Experience
Dr. Hughes received her MD from Howard University in 2005, and she completed her five-year residency training in general surgery there, at Howard University Hospital.
She went on to earn an MPH in 2012 in global health (disaster management and emergency preparedness) from Tulane University. While at Tulane, she received a research appointment in Belgium with the World Health Organization’s Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.
Her work in Belgium focused on the analysis of trauma and injury patterns seen after disaster events (both natural and people-made), and it contributed to several multinational collaborative research projects and publications.
With a continuing commitment to public service and humanitarian work, Dr. Hughes then joined the U.S. Indian Health Service and moved to northwest Arizona, where she served as a general surgeon and medical officer, providing healthcare to the Hopi and Navajo Nations.
In 2013, she joined the surgical faculty of the University of Arizona, practicing as a general surgeon at the Winslow Indian Health Care Center. She provided both medical and surgical services, gaining further comprehensive experience at a rural health facility.
The philosophy of “socially conscious” general surgery is essential to the practice of our general and acute care surgery specialist at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital.
Her interest in “socially conscious” general surgery prompted her to join a small multispecialty group in Guam.
There, she managed a full-time general surgery private practice, and was also responsible for trauma and emergency general surgery coverage at GMHA, the island’s only public hospital serving both local residents and visiting tourists.
Dr. Hughes established GMHA’s hospital-wide wound care service to institute clinical, administrative, product standardization, quality assessment, and policy changes in order to help prevent pressure injuries and to monitor and heal difficult wounds.
In 2018, Dr. Hughes returned to the U.S. mainland to join us at Stony Brook as a fellow in our Mastery in General Surgery program. She was responsible for day-to-day management of acute care general surgery at SBUH, including all related clinical inpatient care and surgical management.
Dr. Hughes excelled here. On completion of her fellowship, she joined our full-time faculty and the SBELIH staff when Stony Brook Medicine combined with Eastern Long Island Hospital in July 2019.
We are very happy to have Dr. Hughes on our team. She sees patients at SBELIH, which is located at 201 Manor Place in Greenport, and she brings to their care a world of experience as a physician and general surgeon.
Learn more about Dr. Hughes and her practice. For consultations/appointments, please call 631-477-5386.