Dr. Pappou is a colorectal surgeon, who specializes in treating gastrointestinal cancers. Learn more about how he cares for his patients and his expertise in minimally invasive surgical techniques.
Show transcript
"Hi, Miss Anne Marie. Good morning." When people come with a diagnosis of cancer, they're usually in shock. And the first thing we do is to reassure them that it's highly treatable and highly curable.
My name is Emmanouil Pappou, and I am a colorectal surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering. As a colorectal surgeon, I treat diseases of the large intestines. I treat cancers in the colon, the rectum, and the area around the anus. When I meet people for the first time, I want them to feel like they're being treated by a member of their family, someone who has them as their priority. Each patient is very special to me, and they're very unique.
Our main focus in colorectal surgery is to cure people from their gastrointestinal cancer. And the second and equally important focus is to preserve or restore their bowel function, and their sexual and bladder function. It's equally important to focus on restoring those functions as it is to cure their cancers.
We strive to do the vast majority of our cases in a minimally invasive fashion, including robotic surgery. It allows us to treat people in a better way. It allows for a better quality surgery. And it leads to quicker recovery after surgery.
The most rewarding part of my job is when I see people cured from their cancer and back to their families. And I see them feeling as if their life was given back to them. And that's an incredible gift to be part of that.
