Reflecting on a 37-year medical career

After a 37-year career in urologic medicine, Hyannis urologist Evangelos Geraniotis, MD, FACS reflected on the changes he has seen over those nearly four decades.

“Urology has come a long way since I started,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the development of miniaturized cameras and scopes that allow procedures to be done in the office instead of the hospital. Also, the advancement in laparoscopies and robotic surgeries has allowed some of the bigger surgeries to be done less invasively. These changes have really changed the field of urology for the better, especially with shorter patient stays in the hospital and smoother recovery periods.”

Dr. Geraniotis, who retired from full-time practice at Urology Associates of Cape Cod in early May of this year, also discussed the diseases he has seen over the years.

“We continue to see a lot of bladder cancer on the Cape, which was also the case when I first came,” he said. “It could possibly be something in the environment. Most patients we see with bladder cancer have moved here from other places. I don’t have a good explanation. We also see more prostate cancer than I would have expected.

“The other condition we see a lot of is kidney stones. It seems there are as many patients with kidney stones here as there are in other parts of the country that are considered ‘stone belt’ places (areas of high burden of kidney stone disease).”

Arriving on Cape Cod

Dr. Geraniotis began his journey to Cape Cod in the summer of 1988 after he completed a two-year surgical residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston, followed by a three-year residency in urology at Ohio State University. He and his wife, Connie, were from the Boston area originally and had talked about moving back.

While he had interviewed at a few places, the couple thought they would most likely remain in Columbus, Ohio. That is, until a friend mentioned that William Johnston, MD, a urologist in Hyannis, had a busy practice and was looking for an associate.

“I came to Hyannis, met Dr. Johnston and liked him,” said Dr. Geraniotis. “My wife and I both liked Cape Cod and decided this was where we were going to live.”

In retirement, Dr. Geraniotis plans to travel, spend more time with his family and simply enjoy all that Cape Cod has to offer.

“This will be the first time since I was in my early teen years that I have had the summer off,” he said. “I’ve never taken a sabbatical or a leave of absence because I’ve either been in school or working. This will be fun for me.”

The Things He Has Enjoyed the Most

Dr. Geraniotis said the things he has enjoyed the most during his career has been “the opportunity to work with a great group of partners, APCs and ancillary and office staff, and to provide what I feel has been excellent urologic care to the community,” he said. “I have also enjoyed working at Cape Cod Hospital as it has grown over the years, and feel it is every bit as good as hospitals in Boston.

“Finally, I am most proud of the fact that when I came here, I joined a solo practice with two employees, and we now have seven physicians, four APCs and an office staff of 60 people.”

He said he will miss working with office staff on a day-to-day basis, as well as the collegiality he shares with his partners, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

“I will miss the patient interaction, not only patients who come in for routine visits, but also with patients having more complicated problems. I’ve come to know families, children of patients I used to take care of, and many others from the entire Cape.”

One of the things Dr. Geraniotis has always enjoyed about Cape Cod is that the community is small, and after living here for more than 30 years, he and his wife know a lot of people, “which is very important to me,” he said. “This is why we are planning to stay.”

Gardening, boating, attending sports events, and enjoying the theater and the arts, with some plans for travel in the summer and fall are also on Dr. Geraniotis’ plans for the rest of the year.

“I like to think that my career here on Cape Cod has been better than I would have expected,” he said. “I once thought about going into academics but chose private practice instead and have never regretted doing that. Moving here was the best thing we ever did. If I had to do it over, I don’t think I would change a thing.”