Sault Ste. Marie’s medical community, countless patients and family members are mourning the loss of Dr. Sante (Sam) Fratesi.
Fratesi, a general surgeon and the Sault’s only vascular surgeon who cared for patients in the community for 44 years, died June 3 at the age of 75.
Outside the operating room, Fratesi also ran a wound care clinic at Sault Area Hospital (SAH).
“Sam was a remarkable individual who had a unique set of skills which allowed him to provide a great service to this community. Sam was a solo practitioner in his specialty as a vascular surgeon. There wasn’t a backup. He had a skill set which no one else in this community had,” said Dr. Doug Bignell, a retired Sault gastroenterologist.
Vascular surgeons can restore blood flow to affected limbs through bypass surgery, angioplasty and stenting. They also manage wounds and infections, especially in diabetic patients, to prevent them from progressing to the point where amputation is necessary.
Fratesi is remembered not only for his medical skill but also for being a dedicated family man and a down to earth individual, committed to practicing medicine in his hometown.
“He was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie and he never forgot his roots,” Bignell told SooToday.
Fratesi’s patients have much to be grateful for due to his skill, said Dr. Doug Woolner, a retired local plastic surgeon.
“There's absolutely no doubt that there are many patients alive in the Algoma District who might have had far worse outcomes had Sam not been around. I was having a discussion with a group of people a few days ago and everybody had a story about somebody whose life was saved or changed in some very significant way by Sam's intervention. He had a lasting impact in this community without a doubt,” Woolner said.
Fratesi was also a teacher and mentor to younger doctors and medical school students.
“I met Dr. Fratesi in the summer of 2007 after my first year of medical school at NOSM. He was always very willing to teach students so I ended up shadowing him in the operating room and in his wound care clinic,” said Dr. Brad Entwistle, Sault Area Hospital radiologist.
That was the start of a professional relationship and personal friendship.
“He was a teacher and a mentor but after I started working here at Sault Area Hospital he would always come to my office and review cases but we would also talk about life, family and hockey as well as medicine,” Entwistle said.
Entwistle praised Fratesi’s work ethic.
“I don't think a lot of people realized the dedication and commitment required to be the only vascular surgeon in this town. He would essentially be on call almost every day. He inspired me to better myself as a clinician. He was a special person,” Entwistle said.
Dr. Lucas Castellani, SAH medical director of infection prevention and control, also admired Fratesi as a mentor.
“We worked together in the wound clinic. He took me under his wing and he helped me learn the ropes. His legacy is here in the clinic, at the hospital and in the community. He was a physician second to none,” Castellani said.
Emilie Iacoe, a registered nurse who worked with Fratesi in SAH’s operating room and wound care clinic, credits the surgeon for inspiring her to ramp up her own medical career.
“I just started studying to be a nurse practitioner last year. He was the one that pushed me to do it because he said I should go further. He never made you feel like you were below him. He made you feel like you were side by side colleagues,” Iacoe said.
Fratesi earned his medical doctorate from the University of Western Ontario in 1974. He later completed his general surgery residency at Western from 1974 to 1979, followed by his vascular surgery training from 1979 to 1981 at the University of Ottawa. He went on to further his education by earning a Masters in Medical Education degree from the University of Dundee, Scotland as well as certification in wound care management.
He was a founding faculty member of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).
Fratesi was honoured with Sault Area Hospital’s Dr. William Hutchinson Award - recognizing distinguished contributions to health services in Sault Ste. Marie and the District of Algoma - in 2008.
He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal - given to Canadians in honour of notable achievements within their communities - in 2012.
Fratesi’s wife, Marilyn, is a retired Algoma Public Health nurse.
His medical legacy lives on in daughters Lauren, a dermatologist, and Jennifer, a radiologist.
Sault Area Hospital is honouring Fratesi by flying its flag at half-mast.
To view Fratesi’s obituary on SooToday, click here.