Greek fellow with the stomach for surgery
It seems all roads lead to St Mark’s Hospital for the Argyriou family.
Nikolaos Dimakopoulos made the trip from Greece in the 1970s as a patient and, nearly half a century later, grandson Orestis is a trainee surgeon and research fellow at the specialist bowel hospital.
Orestis said: “My grandfather’s cancer diagnosis would have meant living with a permanent stoma bag if he had chosen to be treated in Greece. He was a relatively young man at the time so it would have really affected his quality of life.
“He avoided that by travelling to St Mark’s which was well ahead of the field in terms of innovative surgical techniques. He is 93 years-old now so it obviously worked.”
Orestis, whose parents are both medical consultants in Greece, will spend the next two years researching how surgery for ulcerative colitis can affect people’s working lives and the post-operative challenges of stomas versus pouches.
He hopes the findings will help further improve counselling in post-surgery recovery and rehabilitation.
“I’ve never really thought of the link with my grandfather but there is a certain synchronicity there as what drew me to this specialism was the challenge of helping patients manage their condition over a lifetime.”
Kapil Sahnan, a consultant colorectal surgeon who supervises Orestis, added: "It’s inspiring to see Orestis following in his grandfather’s footsteps to St Mark’s and see the hospital that once saved a life in his family is now shaping his own journey in advancing surgical care."
Orestis is pictured above with his grandfather and mother.