08/29/2025
For Matthew Giglia, MD, patient care has two sides: the medical side and the human side.
It’s something Dr. Giglia, chief of surgery and colon and re**al surgeon at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, knew was important before he decided to be a doctor. And an approach that became even more clear when he volunteered at the makeshift hospital on LSU’s campus during Hurricane Katrina.
“Katrina showed me that not only are you dealing with the disease part of what they're presenting you with, but you're also dealing with the human side, which is arguably the more important side of what we do,” he said.
When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005, Dr. Giglia was a sophomore at LSU.
He volunteered at the temporary hospital at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, taking vital signs of patients who were arriving by helicopter, delivering medicine and helping transport patients and their families. He also helped set up a donation center on campus.
Dr. Giglia grew up around hospitals and medicine. His dad was a doctor, and his mom was a nurse. He said he used to question whether he really wanted to be a doctor, or if was a path he was on because of his family.
“Katrina really removed all those doubts for me,” he said. “Seeing those nurses, seeing those doctors, showed me that I wanted to do this for my own path in life.”
Read more about Dr. Giglia’s Hurricane Katrina experience: https://ow.ly/bAWi50WOaGo
Learn more about Dr. Giglia: https://ow.ly/gPxn50WOaGp
