UChicago Medicine Faculty Physicians
Vanessa Buie, MD, MBA
Vanessa Buie, MD, MBA
UChicago Medicine Faculty Physicians
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Specialties
- General Surgery
- Bariatric Surgery
- Gastrointestinal Surgery (GI Surgery)
Locations
- Chicago - Hyde Park
- Tinley Park
- Orland Park
Schedule an Appointment
Schedule an Appointment- About
- Specialties & Areas of Expertise
- Locations & Patient Information
- Education & Research
- Accepted Insurance
- External Professional Relationships
[MUSIC PLAYING] Hi, I'm Dr. Vanessa Buie, and I'm a minimally invasive and bariatric surgeon here at the University of Chicago. Bariatric surgery allows me to offer surgical options for the treatment of obesity. And as a minimally invasive surgeon, I specialize in the management of the abdominal wall, including hernias of the abdominal wall and the groin. Some would say that, like many young Black girls, when I was five years old, I said it out loud and then that meant that I had to become a physician. And I'm a perfectionist. And so I started down that path. I actually have an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering, and that's where I developed my passion for solving problems and processes. And it was probably a combination of my passion for solving problems and my desire to meet people where they were, help them through some of their most difficult challenges, that led me back to medicine and becoming a physician. I think that the University of Chicago sits in a location that is filled with abundant opportunities for really taking care of patients that look like me, who may have been marginalized because of the structural and systemic racism that we see. In the city of Chicago, the access to care is limited. And I trained here. I knew the team here. I knew the leadership here and what their mission and their values were. My philosophy of care is to meet patients where they are, to provide holistic and empathetic care that really starts with listening to patients. A lot of patients come to my office because they were referred and someone said have to see a surgeon because you have this problem that they need to fix. And as much as I love operating on people, not everyone needs to have a surgery and not everyone needs all of their problems fixed. And so it's really about listening to patients, finding out what bothers them, and doing my best that I can to help improve their quality of life. And sometimes that's just listening and sometimes that's with an operation. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Vanessa Buie, MD, MBA, is an advanced minimally invasive gastrointestinal and bariatric surgeon who specializes in:
- Primary and revisional weight loss surgery
- Hernia surgery of the abdominal wall and inguinal region
- Inguinal (Groin) Hernia
- Ventral Hernia
- Incisional Hernia
- Flank Hernia
- Recurrent Hernia
With extensive experience in groin pain and complex conditions, Dr. Buie’s expertise also includes:
- Non-mesh treatment for inguinal hernias
- Chronic Pain after Hernia Surgery
- Inguinodynia (Chronic Groin Pain)
- Athletic Pubalgia
- Sports Hernia
- Anterior Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (ACNES)
As a hernia specialist, Dr. Buie is skilled in all surgical techniques for hernia repair, such as open, laparoscopic, robotic and non-mesh repairs. This allows Dr. Buie to offer her patients personalized treatment options that can address their individual condition, concerns, symptoms and lifestyle. Using a thoughtful and evidence-based approach, she can deliver her patient’s their best outcomes and ensure access to quality surgical care. She is dedicated to providing holistic and empathetic care, creating an environment for joint decision-making that aligns with each patient’s personal goals.
Along with her clinical practice, Dr. Buie remains active in her field, contributing to research that advances hernia care, improves access to surgical care and removes barriers that prevent patients from completing their bariatric surgery journey.
Areas of Expertise
- Robotic Surgery
- Minimally Invasive Weight Loss Surgery
- Laparoscopic Hernia Surgery
- Hiatal Hernia
- Abdominal Hernia
- Complex Abdominal Wall Hernia & Reconstruction
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- Gallbladder & Biliary System Surgery
- Complex Abdominal Surgery
UChicago Medicine Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine - Hyde Park5758 S. Maryland Ave., Chicago IL 606371-888-824-0200
Board Certifications
- Surgery
Practicing Since
- 2022
Languages Spoken
- English
Medical Education
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Residency
- University of Chicago Medicine
Fellowship
- Mt. Sinai Hospital System
Memberships & Medical Societies
- American College of Surgeons
- American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
- American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
- Americas Hernia Society
- Society of Black Academic Surgeons
News & Research
Insurance
- Aetna Better Health *see insurance page
- Aetna HMO (specialists only)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- Aetna POS
- Aetna PPO
- BCBS Blue Precision HMO (specialists only)
- BCBS HMO (HMOI) (specialists only)
- BCBS Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- BCBS PPO
- Cigna HMO
- Cigna POS
- Cigna PPO
- CountyCare *see insurance page
- Humana Medicare Advantage Choice PPO
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Choice PFFS
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Plus HMO
- Medicare
- Multiplan PPO
- PHCS PPO
- United Choice Plus POS/PPO
- United Choice HMO (specialists only)
- United Options (PPO)
- United Select (HMO & EPO) (specialists only)
- United W500 Emergent Wrap
- University of Chicago Health Plan (UCHP)
Our list of accepted insurance providers is subject to change at any time. You should contact your insurance company to confirm UChicago Medicine participates in their network before scheduling your appointment. If your insurance company is not listed here, or if you have any other questions, please contact Managed.Care@uchospitals.edu.
*Click Here to visit our insurance page and learn more.
UChicago Medicine is committed to fostering a corporate culture of ethical behavior and integrity in all matters related to compliance with the laws and regulations that govern the delivery of healthcare. This aspiration is central to supporting patient care, research, and teaching at UChicago Medicine.
Some of our physicians and health professionals collaborate with external pharmaceutical, medical device, or other medical related entities to develop new treatments and products to improve clinical outcomes for patients. In some instances, the physician has ownership interests in the external entity and/or is compensated for advising or speaking about the entity’s products or treatments. These payments may include compensation for consulting and speaking engagements, equity, and/or royalties for products invented by our physicians. To assure objectivity and integrity in patient care, UChicago Medicine requires all physicians and health professionals to report their relationships and financial interests with external entities on an annual basis. This information is used to review relationships and transactions that might give rise to potential financial conflicts of interest, and when considered to be significant a management plan to mitigate any biases is created.
If you are a patient at UChicago Medicine and would like more information about your physician’s external relationships, please talk with your physician. You may also visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ . CMS Open Payments is a national disclosure program that promotes a more transparent and accountable health care system. It houses a publicly accessible database of payments that reporting entities, including drug and medical device companies, make to covered recipients like physicians and hospitals.
Information in the CMS Open Payments database could potentially contain inaccurately reported and out of date payment information. All information is open to personal interpretation, if there are questions about the data, patients and their advocates should speak directly to their health care provider for a better understanding.
Some of our physicians and health professionals collaborate with external pharmaceutical, medical device, or other medical related entities to develop new treatments and products to improve clinical outcomes for patients. In some instances, the physician has ownership interests in the external entity and/or is compensated for advising or speaking about the entity’s products or treatments. These payments may include compensation for consulting and speaking engagements, equity, and/or royalties for products invented by our physicians. To assure objectivity and integrity in patient care, UChicago Medicine requires all physicians and health professionals to report their relationships and financial interests with external entities on an annual basis. This information is used to review relationships and transactions that might give rise to potential financial conflicts of interest, and when considered to be significant a management plan to mitigate any biases is created.
If you are a patient at UChicago Medicine and would like more information about your physician’s external relationships, please talk with your physician. You may also visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments website at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ . CMS Open Payments is a national disclosure program that promotes a more transparent and accountable health care system. It houses a publicly accessible database of payments that reporting entities, including drug and medical device companies, make to covered recipients like physicians and hospitals.
Information in the CMS Open Payments database could potentially contain inaccurately reported and out of date payment information. All information is open to personal interpretation, if there are questions about the data, patients and their advocates should speak directly to their health care provider for a better understanding.