Evanston, IL (April 24, 2008) World-renown laparoscopic bariatric surgeon Constantine Frantzides, M.D., Ph.D., and staff member at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston and other Chicago-area hospitals, has commented about the recent CBS news coverage regarding a possible link between the elimination of diabetes and high blood pressure in patients who have experienced gastric bypass surgery.

On April 20, the news magazine “60 Minutes” reported that researchers from New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center found that rats with diabetes who received gastric bypass surgery were “cured” of the disease. When the bypass surgery was reversed in the same rats, the disease returned.

“Most of my patients who suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes can significantly reduce their medications or eliminate them altogether after surgery,” said Frantzides, who is a pioneer in laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery and has performed more than 2,000 gastric bypass operations and more than 300 revisions.

“The research that was highlighted on 60 Minutes confirms what many surgeons have been seeing for many years,” he said. Frantzides has long acknowledged that bypass patients frequently suffer from diabetes, dangerously high blood pressure, sleep apnea, orthopedic and joint problems, and other complications that can decrease their lifespan and limit healthy activity. 

Though the research on rats with diabetes suggests that diabetes could be treated with a scalpel, Frantzides is cautious, “Gastric bypass surgery for now is best reserved for patients who are morbidly obese,” he said, “however, the benefits of bypass surgery include a high rate of remission of diabetes and high blood pressure, usually within a very short time.”

During gastric bypass surgery, a small pouch, about the size of an egg, is created and the largest portion of the stomach is “bypassed” to a part of the small intestine, making the stomach so much smaller that patients are unable to eat large quantities of food.

Dr. Frantzides uses special, leading-edge imaging equipment to perform the surgery laparoscopically. During laparoscopic surgery, only a small number of incisions are made in the abdomen and the patient recovers more quickly from the surgery.

“Bypass surgery is not about getting thin. It’s about getting healthy,” said Frantzides, “More than 300,000 people die from obesity or complications from obesity.”

What about those who say bariatric patients have a higher risk of morbidity after surgery?  “Not true,” said Frantzides, “Bypass surgery, especially laparoscopic bypass surgery, is safer now than most surgeries and greatly improves the health of the patient.” The risk is about one-tenth of that of most other types of open surgeries.

Dr. Constantine Frantzides will speak at Saint Francis Hospital on Saturday, June 7 in Saint Francis Hospital’s Wolf Auditorium, from 10 a.m. – Noon.

The discussion, called “A Gentle Surgical Approach to Obesity,” is free and open to the public. To register for the discussion, call 1-877-RES-INFO.

Frantzides is a world-recognized expert in laparoscopic surgery and has pioneered 13 new laparoscopic procedures including the “Frantzides-Madan Triple Stapling Technique” for gastric bypass. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Saint Francis Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center in Evanston, IL and is home to the North Shore’s first and only accredited Chest Pain Center.

Saint Francis Hospital is a part of Resurrection Health Care, a family of health care services providing advanced medical care and exceptional customer service with compassion and hope.  Our hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, home health services, behavioral health programs and other services are conveniently located in many Chicagoland neighborhoods. Resurrection Health Care is a not-for-profit Catholic organization sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth and the Sisters of the Resurrection.