Chicago Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery Bariatric Center

I am a 22 year old female I was very obease and I have always been since I was around the age of 11. 5 years ago my father decided to have gastric bypass surgery and he came across Dr. Frantzides. We had heard he was the best in the state of IL. My dad then went on to have the gastric bypass surgery done by Dr. Frantzides everything went so great. Then a few years later I started looking into weight loss surgerys I had tried everything from pills, weight watchers and dietitions and nothing worked. I then went to Dr. Frantzides office and had a counselation. My life has changed so much since then. I had my laparocopic gastric bypass surgery on Dec. 14,2010 I am now 6 months from surgery and I have lost 110 pounds! My life is so much better I am happy, healthier, more energetic and just a better person overall. I would not have been able to make it this far without Dr. Frantzides helping me to have a second chance at life! Everyone in his office is great so easy to get along with and work with. As soon as you walk in the door it feels like home there no one judges you or looks down on you, all they want to do is help. I am young and I have my whole life ahead of me but I might not have made it much longer going down the path I was headed with my health if it were not for Dr. Frantzides. Thank you Dr. Frantzides I love you for helping me turn my life around!

Hi my name is Ben, I'm 16 years old and I have been battling with weight my whole life and I relized one day that I needed to end this and start a new begining. My family and I decided to go with this procedure and wIthin a week after this procedure I have lost 20 lbs its unbeilievable. I am happy because I know that eventually I will be able to go in a store and buy clothing without having problems like its too tight or they don't carry your size. I know it sounds scarry going under the knife but you have to get past that and relize what it could do for you in the long run. The doctors and staff are great if you have any questions they will help you. The first time I steppped in the office I had a warm feeling of welcome everyone is extremely kind here. If you were ever thinking about this surgery do it because you will be happy when everything is over with.

Dr. Frantzides did my surgery back in April, it's been 5 weeks and I have lost 42 pounds. I feel great. I have gone down 6 sizes on my suit jackets, lost 1.5 inches around my neck, and everybody around tells me how great I look. I don't have any regrets except for not doing it sooner. I have no food cravings which is one of the things I feared I would have after the surgery and I fearded how that would work with my small pouch. I don't have that problem. Beacause my surgery was done laparoscoically the post surgical pain was very minimal, and process is quite easy. There is very little down time. I was walking around a couple of hours after the surgery, released from the hospital the next day and back to work within 10 days. I was able to return to the gym one month after surgery with walking and use of cardio machines with zero resistance. Everything is going great and should be able to resume normal activities at the gym with no restrictions within the next 30 days. With the exception of my food quantity intake, I will also be able resume full dietary menu. I look forward to my new life ahead of me with great pride and joy.

It's been 9 months since my laparoscopic bastric bypass. I have lost 160 pounds and I feel great. I's a lot easier buying clothes now, I have gone 4 sizes down in shirts and I can shop in "normal stores" . I sleep better, I sleep longer, I don't take short cuts anymore, I am willing to take the stairs if I can. I can eat prettey much everything I used to just not as much and I have learned to eat healthier food. Before the operation I was on blood pressure pills and arthritis medicaction. Since the surgery I have stopped taking them and never went back. I am not depressed anymore and not worried , everything is going well and I couldn't be happier, my family couldn't be happier, and my friend couldn't be happier. This was probably the easiest thing I have ever done in effort to loose weight. The oucomes far eceeded my expectations. All you need to do is listen to the doctor and it happeneds by itself. Once you get into it you know what to do and what not to do. I am not done loosing I will be back with an update.

Dr. Frantzides is an amazing surgeon! I am a nurse and have worked with him and been a patient of his for three years. I have seen Dr. Frantzides preform surgeries other surgeons would NEVER be able to complete. Dr. Frantzides is a masterful surgeon and a fabulous teacher.

Dr. Frantzides is very honest and his staff are fantastic as well. The staff at Saint Francis Hospital
absolutely respect and adore him as well. As a nurse, this was very impressive.

Dr. Frantzides will let you know exactly what to expect and he is very specific with his instructions. I recently had a ventral hernia repair and I am 5 weeks post op. I trust Dr. Frantzides with my life and I am very grateful for the new life he has given me.

I saw Dr. Franzides in December 2010 for my initial consultation. At that time he found me to be a good candidate for surgery and I began the procedures required to get my insurance to approve my surgery. I was told that I needed to have a psych exam; a nutritional couselling session with a nutritionist and that I needed to see my primary care doctor for weight loss management for three months in order to get approval. ( I have numerous comormidities making weight loss surgery essential to save my life).

By March 2011 I completed all the requirements set forth by the insurance company but when Dr. Franzides office called to get precertification I was denied because just a week before the company changed their policy to a 6 month period with a commercial weight loss plan.

I made many phone calls protesting this change.

What was remarkable was the support I got from Dr. Franzides and his team. They were relentless in advocating on my behalf with the insurance company. They kept getting different answers depending upon the agent who answered the phone call. Eventually, after multiple denials Dr. Franzides did a peer to peer review and argued vociferously on my behalf. Finally, the insurance company gave me my precertification and I have scheduled my surgery for next month.

Dr. Franzides demonstrated exceptional concern for my case. He is truly a remarkable man who cares about his patients.

I strongly advise anyone trying to get this life saving surgery to not give up when the insurance companies try to avoid paying. Keep calling and hopefully you will also have a surgeon who cares as much as Dr. Franzides.

I have been a nurse for 40 years and I have been suffering from obesity, hypertension, coronary artery disease and insulin dependent diabetis.. I also have asthma and I have tried various medications, different types of diets , daily excercise. Everything failed, I keept gaining weight. I was fed up with my weight and the conditions such as elevated blood sugar, blood pressure and asthmatic attacks. Finallly I went to my treating physician to suggest any alterative treatment for this steady weight gain. After putting me on special diet for 3 months he suggested gastric bypass by Dr. Frantzides. I made the appintment with Dr. Frantzides, Before seeing Dr. Frantzides I was hesitant to have surgery as anyone would but after I consulted with him I felt much more comfortable and assured that I would benefit form having the surgery. After having consultation with my cardiologist, family practitioned and edochronology I was brawe enought to have the surgery which was performed laparoscopiccally by Dr. Frantzides on Apr 27th. I had a quick recovery. Two hours after surgery I was up and walking. After a week I was able to walk around a do things for myself and in two weeks time I am fully able to move around withiout any discomfort and am tolerating soft diet well. This past 2 weeks my blood sugar is down considerably and my blood pressure is normal and I didn't have to use my inhalers for my asthma. I am excited with my weight loss of 15 pounds in 15 days. I want to thank Dr. Frantzides and his team for helping me through this.

My name is Paul Anest I am 40 years old and I have been struggling with my weight my whole life. I have tried all kinds of diet programs in the past not to mention that I excercised to the point that I was seeing a personal trainer twice a week. I did have sucess on the programs but was unable to keep the weight off. It came to a point where I had to make a decision to do something about it. Currently I do suffer from sleep apnea, I did have knee and hip pains, and I needed to get it under control. I had the laparoscopic gastric bypass one week ago and I have no cravings for food which I normally would. Amazingly enough I was back home the next day, and the only pain I felt was the pain from the puncture sites. Today I had my first weigh in and I have lost 25 pound this first week. I am glad that I made the decison to finally go throught with the process and I didn't wait any longer than I did.

Hi my name is Stephanie and I had laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery on December 14,2010. Before I had surgery by Dr. Frantzides my life was a mess I was dangerously overweight and unhappy. My father and many doctors suggested that I should talk to a doctor about having surgery done. My father had also had gastric bypass by Dr. Frantzides about 5 years ago. When I was looking for who I wnted to do my surgery I wanted the best. I decided to go with Dr. Frantzides who is the best surgen ever he's funny but also serious and says the hard things that you need to hear. I traveled over 2 hours so that I was able to recieve the best care and I would not have trusted anyone but Dr. Frantzides to preform gastric bypass on me. Now that it has been 4 months since surgery my whole life has changed for the better. I have lost 80 pounds and counting. I am finally happy with the way I look and I am happy to have found the best doctor that could help make me healthy again. It's like being given a second chance at life. Dr. Frantzides is THE BEST and he encourages me to stay on track and is always positive and all of the other staff menbers at his office do the same. I could not have asked for my surgery to have gone any better than this! Thank you Dr. Frantzides! :)

I chose Dr. Frantzides because he is considered to be the best in his field, and he is! His achievements, medically speaking, are outstanding, and all one has to do is read award after award and see the countless patient reviews that rave about this man's kindness, compassion and true dedication to his role as a life-changing physician! I found him to be warm, friendly, funny, and very personable and accessible! I have NEVER spoken personally and at such length with ANY physician, the way I did with him. He has your best interest at heart. His staff, Theresa and Gerry, are the kindest and most compassionate people ever! They made me feel welcome, always listened to me and never judged me or made me feel ashamed of my obesity issue. I am forever indebted to their kindness.
Unfortunately, I couldn't have the LRNY with Dr. Frantzides because, his fee for the surgery, is not in network with any insurance. I currently have, BCBS of IL., which, after my deductible is met, will pay 100% of the procedure, with an IN-NETWORK physician. The hospital, the care I would receive there, all the tests, were covered, but not with Dr. Frantzides. This broke my heart, as I truly wanted him to be my surgeon as I know I would receive the BEST overall care. However, please don't let this stop you from seeking out this wonderful physician, this was just how my own personal financial situation is. (We have three kids to put through college! ;) I wish all the best to Dr. Frantzides and his staff!