Dr. Constantine T Frantzides, MD

Dr. Frantzides is the Director of the Chicago Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery; Director of the Laparoscopic and Bariatric Fellowship Program at St. Francis Hospital. He is recognized worldwide as an expert in the field of laparoscopic surgery and is a charter member of the United States Laparoscopic Founders Society. His experience in laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery is one of the most extensive in the United States. Dr. Frantzides created the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin and was the Director of the center from 1995-1997. Dr. Frantzides has served as the Director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center and professor of surgery at the University of Chicago from 1997 to 2000. He was also the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Weiss Memorial Hospital from 1997-2000. He was the Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Rush Medical Center in Chicago and professor of surgery at Rush University. He was also the director of Minimally Invasive Surgery (2003-2006) and director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship Program (2003-2008) at Northshore University Health System. Under his Directorship, and because of his high volume of procedures and excellent outcomes NUHS was named a "Center Of Excellence" by the American College of Surgeons. In addition Dr. Frantzides was Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University from 2004-2009. He has traveled internationally to perform and teach laparoscopic procedures. In recognition of his efforts in teaching advanced laparoscopic techniques, he was named Honorary member of the Brazilian Society of Surgery, the Hellenic Surgical Association, and the Greek Laparoscopic Society. During the last 19 years, he has organized 31 laparoscopic courses through which 331 surgeons were trained in laparoscopic surgery. He has created the first laparoscopic fellowship program in the United States (1995) for training young surgeons in the art of minimally invasive surgery. He has made more than 200 contributions to the medical literature and has written three books on laparoscopic surgery. He was the first in the world to introduce and perform 14 different laparoscopic procedures. He has worked extensively on the laparoscopic management of Gastro- Esophageal Reflux disease and Hiatal Hernia, Incisional Hernia, treatment of esophageal achalasia and the laparoscopic treatment of benign and malignant diseases of the colon. Dr. Frantzides has extensively published in peer reviewed medical journals on the above mentioned ailments and other diseases managed in a minimally invasive approach. He performed the first in the world prospective randomized trial of laparoscopic mesh repair of large hiatal hernias (Archives of Surgery 2002) and he introduced "The Frantzides Technique" for the treatment of esophageal high grade dysplasia and Barrett's esophagus (American Journal of Surgery 2010). He developed a new safer technique for the laparoscopic gastric bypass ("Triple Stapling Technique" Archives of Surgery, 2003.) Dr. Frantzides was the first surgeon to define and publish the importance of preserving the Vagus nerve during a gastric bypass for avoidance of the dumping syndrome (Obesity Surgery 2011). He is credited with inventing two surgical instruments used in laparoscopic surgery. In recognition of his academic activities in laparoscopic surgery as well as his surgical skills he was given the "Achievement award for advanced laparoscopic surgery" by the American Society of General Surgeons. He was named in 2007 & 2008 America's Top Surgeon and in 2010 &2011 as the Most Compassionate Doctor by the Consumers' Research Council of America. In 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 he was named "America's Top Doctor" by the acclaimed Castle Connolly Medical Guide. He was also named "Top Doctor" in 2012 by the Chicago Magazine, and the US News and World Report for 2011, 2012, and 2013.