A complex, chronic, and debilitating condition, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects roughly 3 million Americans, including those with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Experts at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at NYU Langone Ambulatory Care Lake Success are celebrating two years of providing compassionate, patient-centered care to thousands of individuals living with IBD. In addition to standard medical and surgical care, the center also provides an innovative, one-stop approach to offer patients a better quality of life, including nutritional and psychological support.
Our patients have a multitude of symptoms, and our mission is to treat the entire gamut of their condition by establishing long-term relationships, collaborating with various specialists, so that they can better function on a daily basis without discomfort."
Bradley M. Morganstern, MD, gastroenterologist and medical director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
As the only comprehensive IBD center on Long Island, the center has transformed thousands of patients' lives. Since opening in November 2022, the practice has seen more than 10,000 gastrointestinal and surgical visits and performed 1,500 endoscopies, 1,200 surgeries, and nearly 1,400 infusions.
"From the onset, our mission has been to create a comprehensive IBD center for both outpatient and inpatient care to seamlessly navigate patients through a healing journey," said Toyooki Sonoda, MD, chief of NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine's Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery and the center's surgical director. "Our patients have access to novel treatments, clinical trials, and our world-class multidisciplinary expertise so that they can receive the very best possible care."
For Frankie Calca, a former professional bowler, the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center has been a lifesaver. The 41-year-old Elmont, Long Island, native was suffering from anemia and was severely malnourished from being unable to eat due to constant nausea. After Calca received intravenous nutritional packets and multiple infusions, Dr. Sonoda performed a complex surgery on him. Calca credits Dr. Sonoda for being able to remove 18 separate blockages in his intestine during 10 hours of surgery at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island.
"IBD was the biggest strike against my health, but Dr. Sonoda helped me get back to doing what I love, knocking down pins," said the avid bowler. "He was the best thing that ever happened in my medical life and did such an amazing job, I forgot I was sick."
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