Patient Stories

Generally found after the age of 69, and is more likely to strike men than women

See Richard Santangelo's video from 2015. Read his Story of Hope for an update!

Why Columbia’s Team Approach Achieves Astonishing Results

A radio talk show host lost 110 pounds after his sleeve gastrectomy at Columbia, noting that it gave him a whole new level of confidence, and increased his energy and vitality.

After more than 30 years of smoking, Jean Martin of Manalapan, New Jersey, decided to trade her cigarettes for a pair of running shoes. At age 51, she worked up slowly from a brisk walk to jogging and started feeling pretty good. Then one day her calves began to cramp. When the pain became severe, Jean went to a local hospital and was diagnosed with peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition that had affected her father. PAD is a narrowing of the arteries carrying blood to the limbs. Smokers are up to 25 times more likely to develop it. Jean had the right idea—quitting—she just didn’t do it soon enough.

Jerry Del Colliano, media executive, author, and disk jockey, is a member of the boomer generation who stays fit working out at his homes in Arizona and New Jersey. Earlier this year, he was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm, an enlargement of the main artery that takes blood from the heart to the rest of the body. This condition usually causes no symptoms until it ruptures or tears and becomes life threatening.

Glenn McMahon, a 56 year-old man from New Jersey, thought his bariatric surgery would only require an overnight stay. Following surgery, however, Glenn developed pneumonia and a severe form of the acute respiratory distress syndrome. He ended up in the intensive care unit fighting for his life.

Prasha Tuladhar’s sneakers, horn-rimmed glasses, and chic cropped hair could be the hallmarks of any New Yorker: shiny, sharp, shrewd. Little would onlookers know that without NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s ECMO Program, Prasha would not be alive.

In the fall of 2014, Dave began to lose weight. Being diagnosed a few years earlier with Diabetes II, at first he thought it was part of the disease. However, other symptoms started to appear — pain under his rib cage, losing more weight, change in stools, etc. An appointment to the primary doctor in October had Dave and his wife, Wendy, asking a lot of questions. After seeing doctor after doctor, Dave and Wendy finally arrived at the Pancreas Center, for successful diagnosis and treatment of Dave's pancreatic cancer.