Frederick Gandolfo, MD

Small beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead before he entered the kitchen.  He walked into the back where the chef, who was working furiously, didn’t even notice him. “Excuse me, Chef?” the waiter managed to peep out, barely audible above the kitchen clamor.  There was no answer.  “Um, excuse me, Chef?” the  … Read more

We have established that the microbiome is important.  But what makes up a healthy microbiome? In one word...

Of the cancers that both men and women can get, colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the Unites States.  Colonoscopy, when performed by an expert with an adequate adenoma detection rate, has been shown to reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer.  For most people, routine screening colonoscopy is recommended starting at  … Read more

There has been concern for several years about commonly prescribed antacid drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and the heart.  PPIs are used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, and other acid-related diseases.  Common drugs in the PPI class are omeprazole (Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), pantoprazole (Protonix), lansoprazole (Prevacid), and dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), among  … Read more

Case: A 79-year-old man with a distant history of pulmonary embolism (PE) was admitted to the hospital with several days of vague right-sided lower abdominal pain.  There was no history of gastrointestinal bleeding, and the pain did not worsen with eating.  On physical exam, there was moderate right lower quadrant abdominal tenderness without rebound or  … Read more

The purpose of this article is to define a few terms and clarify some common misconceptions about rectal bleeding.