Dr. Constantine Frantzides, MD, PhD, FACS

Expert Publications

• Laparoscopic repair of large hiatal hernia with polytetrafluoroethylene.
• Laparoscopic prosthetic reinforcement of hiatal herniorrhaphy.
• Laparoscopic repair of a congenital diaphragmatic hernia in an adult.
• Complications and results of primary minimally invasive antireflux procedures: a review of 10,735 reported cases.
• A prospective, randomized trial of laparoscopic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) patch repair vs simple cruroplasty for large hiatal hernia.
• Gastric emptying time, not enterogastric reflux, is related to symptoms after upper gastrointestinal/biliary surgery.
• The quality of information about laparoscopic bariatric surgery on the Internet.
• Laparoscopic repair of a recurrent chronic traumatic diaphragmatic hernia.
• Selective use of esophageal manometry and 24-Hour pH monitoring before laparoscopic fundoplication.
• Triple-stapling technique for jejunojejunostomy in laparoscopic gastric bypass.
• Laparoscopic highly selective vagotomy: technique and case report.
• Laparoscopic wedge resection of gastric leiomyoma.
• Self-reported versus observed scores in laparoscopic skills training.
• Laparoscopic repair of paraesophageal hiatal hernia.
• Effects of a laparoscopic course on student interest in surgical residency.

Media Releases

Get to know General Surgeon Dr. Constantine Frantzides, who serves patients in Chicago & Skokie, Illinois.

Recognized worldwide as an expert in the field of laparoscopic surgery, Dr. Frantzides’ experience in laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery is one of the most extensive in the United States. He is the Director of Chicago Institute Minimally Invasive Surgery in Skokie, Illinois and clinical Professor at University of Illinois, Chicago. 

It is a great pleasure and honor for Dr. Frantzides when patients, turned down by others, present to his office with challenging surgical issues that he is able to successfully treat with laparoscopic surgery. He is known for his excellence in minimally invasive surgery, superior surgical skills, innovative techniques, customized treatment, and compassion.

“I went into medicine because I wanted to help people. I didn’t go into medicine to make money. Essentially, when laparoscopy came into play, I realized that what I didn’t like about surgery was the butchery of it. When laparoscopy came, it was like a light at the end of the tunnel for me” expressed the doctor. 

Throughout his line of work, Dr. Frantzides created the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and was the Director of the center from 1995-1997. He has served as the Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery Center and Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago from 1997-2000 and was the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Weiss Memorial Hospital. Dr. Frantzides also was the Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center & as a 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 (previously known as Evanston Northwestern Healthcare). Under his directorship, and because of his high volume of procedures and excellent outcomes, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare was named a “Center of Excellence” by the American College of Surgeons. In addition, he served as a Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University from 2004-2009.

Having traveled internationally to perform and teach laparoscopic operations, Dr. Frantzides was named Honorary Member of the Brazilian Society of Surgery (Colegio Brasileiro de Cirurgia Digestiva), the Hellenic Surgical Association, and the Greek Laparoscopic Society in recognition of his efforts. During the last two decades, he organized 31 laparoscopic courses through which 338-surgeons were trained in laparoscopic surgery. He has created the first accredited laparoscopic fellowship program in the United States (1995) for training young surgeons in the art of minimally invasive surgery.

An authority in his field, Dr. Frantzides was the first in the world to introduce and perform 14 different laparoscopic procedures; 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); developed a new safer technique for the laparoscopic gastric bypass (“Triple Stapling Technique” Archives of Surgery, 2003); performed the first prospective randomized trial of laparoscopic mesh repair of large hiatal hernias in the world (Archives of Surgery 2002); introduced “The Frantzides Technique” for the treatment of esophageal high grade dysplasia and Barrett’s esophagus (American Journal of Surgery, 2016); he has published the largest series of Laparoscopic Revision of Failed Bariatric (Obesity) Procedures (Journal of the Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons 2019) and invented two surgical instruments used in laparoscopic surgery. 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. 

A charter member of the United States Laparoscopic Founders Society and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), Dr. Frantzides has been the recipient of several awards, honors, and grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and from the surgical industry. He has made more than 200 contributions to the medical literature as well as has written three-text books on laparoscopic surgery.

General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. A general surgeon performs a wide range of abdominal surgeries for many forms of intestinal and abdominal wall neoplasms, gallbladder disease, gastric and pancreatic disease. They follow the patient through critical care and surgical recovery all the way to outpatient care. 

In recognition of his academic activities in laparoscopic surgery as well as his surgical skills, Dr. Frantzides 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 as the Most Compassionate Doctor by the Consumers’ Research Council of America (2010-2014). In addition, he was named “Top Doctor” by the Chicago Magazine (2012-2021), given the “Certificate of Excellence” by US News & World Report (2011-2021), and named “America’s Top Doctor” by the acclaimed Castle Connolly Medical Guide for 12 consecutive years (2009-2021).

Bringing a wealth of knowledge to his industry, Dr. Frantzides has been highlighted in several editions of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in the Midwest, and Who’s Who in the World since 1993. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to his profession, he has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website.

On a more personal note, he is fluent in English and Greek.

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