Professor of Surgery
Colorectal Surgeon
MB ChB MMedSc(Otago) FACS FRACS FNZMA FASCRS FRCSI
Frank is Professor of Colorectal Surgery at the University of Otago, Christchurch, Colorectal Surgeon at Christchurch Hospital with the Canterbury District Health Board, and Editor in Chief of the New Zealand Medical Journal.
He trained in general surgery in New Zealand before undertaking post fellowship training in colorectal surgery at the Mayo Clinic, and Scotland.
He returned to New Zealand in 1996 as senior lecturer in surgery at the University of Otago, Christchurch, before being appointed Professor of Colorectal Surgery in 2000, and became Head of the Academic Department of Surgery in January 2006. Frank relinquished this role in 2019 after 13 years as HoD, and became Convenor of the Trainee Intern Surgery module for 6th Year medical students.
He has been Editor in Chief of the New Zealand Medical Journal since 2002.
Frank has published over 400 publications in peer reviewed journals and given more than 250 presentations at national and international meetings.
Research interests
- Management and outcomes of patients with colorectal diseases especially colorectal cancer, locally recurrent rectal cancer, anal cancer and diverticular disease
- The role of surgery in the management of inflammatory bowel disease
- Medical legal and publication issues related to medicine in general and surgery specifically.
Publications
Sulit, A. K., Pearson, J., Liu, W., Silander, O. K., Wilson, K., Heriot, A., Frizelle, F., & Purcell, R. (2022, August). Human gene and microbial analyses suggest immunotherapy-like mechanisms in complete response to radiotherapy in rectal cancer. Verbal presentation at the Cancer Satellite Meeting: Queenstown Research Week, Queenstown, New Zealand.
Frizelle, F., Tierney, G., Ziyaie, D., & Vimalachandran, D. (2022, July). Consultants' corner. Panel discussion at the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain & Ireland (ACPGBI) Annual Meeting, Edinburgh, UK.
Frizelle, F. (2022, July). Research fraud. Verbal presentation at the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain & Ireland (ACPGBI) Annual Meeting, Edinburgh, UK.
Frizelle, F. (2022, July). Diverticular disease: Who gets recurrence and why: The role of microbiome [BJS Lecture]. Invited presentation at the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain & Ireland (ACPGBI) Annual Meeting, Edinburgh, UK.
O'Grady, M. J., Turner, G. A., Sulit, A., Frizelle, F. A., & Purcell, R. (2022). Distinct changes in the colonic microbiome associated with acute diverticulitis. Colorectal Disease. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/codi.16271
Chittleborough, T., Beadel, G., & Frizelle, F. (2022). Extended exenterative resections involving bone. In M. E. Kelly & D. C. Winter (Eds.), Surgical management of advanced pelvic cancer. (pp. 97-109). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. doi: 10.1002/9781119518495.ch11
Chapter in Book - Research
Eglinton, T. W., & Frizelle, F. A. (2019). Laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy for diverticular disease. In M. Parker & W. Hohenberger (Eds.), Lower gastrointestinal tract surgery: (Vol. 1): Laparoscopic procedures. (pp. 285-306). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-05240-9_9
Chapter in Book - Research
Eglinton, T. W., & Frizelle, F. A. (2010). Investigation and management of complications after coloproctological surgery. In G. A. Santoro, A. P. Wieczorek & C. I. Bartram (Eds.), Pelvic floor disorders: Imaging and multidisciplinary approach to management. (pp. 713-723). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-88-470-1542-5_93
Chapter in Book - Research
Nguyen, T., & Frizelle, F. A. (2010). Invited commentary. In G. A. Santoro, A. P. Wieczorek & C. I. Bartram (Eds.), Pelvic floor disorders: Imaging and multidisciplinary approach to management. (pp. 679-684). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-88-470-1542-5_89
Chapter in Book - Research
Nyam, D. N., Frizelle, F. A., & Pemberton, J. H. (1998). Physiologic derangements of the rectum and anus. In T. A. Miller (Ed.), Modern Surgical Care. Physiologic Foundations and Clinical Applications, 2nd Edition. (pp. 702-727). St Louis, Missouri: Quality Medical Publishing.
Chapter in Book - Research
Wolff, B. W., & Frizelle, F. A. (1998). Recurrent Diverticulitis Following Resection. In J. P. Welch, J. Cohen, W. Sardella & P. Vignati (Eds.), Diverticular Disease, Management of the Difficult Surgical Case, 1st edition. (pp. 343-351). Williams and Wilkins.
Chapter in Book - Research
Frizelle, F. A., & Nelson, H. (1997). Psychological Factors of IBD including Sexual Function. In R. N. Allen, M. R. B. Keighley, J. Alexander-Williams, V. W. Fazio, S. Hanauer & J. M. Rhodes (Eds.), Inflammatory Bowel Disease, 3rd edition. (pp. 943-947). Churchill-Livingston.
Chapter in Book - Research
Bower, T. C., Wolff, B. W., & Frizelle, F. A. (1995). Ischaemic cokitor. In Current Therapy. 5th edn. (pp. 182-186). St Louis: Mosby.
Chapter in Book - Research
Frizelle, F. A., & Nelson, H. (1995). Recurrent colon cancer. In S. D. Wexner & A. M. Vernava (Eds.), Clinical Decision Making in Colorectal Surgery. (pp. 389-395). New York: Igaku-Shoin.
Chapter in Book - Research
Frizelle, F. (2013). Surgery. In P. Joyce, G. Nicholls, K. Thomas & T. Wilkinson (Eds.), The Christchurch experience: 40 years of research and teaching. (pp. 60-66). Christchurch, New Zealand: University of Otago.
Chapter in Book - Other
Frizelle, F., & Barclay, M. (2008). Constipation in adults. In C. Young (Ed.), Clinical evidence handbook: The international source of the best available evidence for effective health care. (pp. 167). UK: BMJ: Evidence Centre.
Chapter in Book - Other
Aitchison, A., Pearson, J. F., Purcell, R. V., Frizelle, F. A., & Keenan, J. I. (2022). Detection of Fusobacterium nucleatum DNA in primary care patient stool samples does not predict progression of colorectal neoplasia. PLoS ONE, 17(6), e0269541. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269541
Journal - Research Article
Kim, E., Fernando, C., McCombie, A., Bailey, W., Frizelle, F., Glyn, T., Porter, C., Wakeman, C., & Creagh, T. (2022). Abdominal and perineal hernia rates following vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous (VRAM) flap reconstruction : A supraregional experience. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 75, 1158-1163. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.002
Journal - Research Article
O'Grady, M. J., Turner, G. A., Sulit, A., Frizelle, F. A., & Purcell, R. (2022). Distinct changes in the colonic microbiome associated with acute diverticulitis. Colorectal Disease. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/codi.16271
Journal - Research Article
Turner, G., O'Grady, M., Hudson, D., Morgan, X., Frizelle, F., & Purcell, R. (2022). Rectal swabs are a reliable method of assessing the colonic microbiome. International Journal of Medical Microbiology, 312(2), 151549. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2022.151549
Journal - Research Article
COVIDSurg Collaborative, and GlobalSurg Collaborative, including, Wright, D., Kieser, D., Rennie, S., Clifford, Z., Frizelle, F., Glyn, T., Lim, E., Lyons, O., O'Grady, M., Roake, J., Ailabouni, R., Alqassab, M., Amer, M., Haddow, J., Hawkins, R., Oliver, T., Saw, K. S., Gaston, M., & Haimona, M. (2021). SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: Data from an international prospective cohort study. British Journal of Surgery, 108, 1056-1063. doi: 10.1093/bjs/znab101
Journal - Research Article
COVIDSurg Collaborative, and GlobalSurg Collaborative, including, Wright, D., Kieser, D., Rennie, S., Clifford, Z., Frizelle, F., Glyn, T., Lyons, O., O'Grady, M., Roake, J., Ailabouni, R., Alqassab, M., Amer, M., Haddow, J., Hawkins, R., Oliver, T., Saw, K. S., Gaston, M., & Haimona, M. (2021). Timing of surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection: An international prospective cohort study. Anaesthesia, 76, 748-758. doi: 10.1111/anae.15458
Journal - Research Article
Cross, A. J., Kornfält, P., Lidin, J., Buchwald, P., Frizelle, F. A., & Eglinton, T. W. (2021). Surgical outcomes following colorectal cancer resections in patients aged 80 years and over: Results from the Australia and New Zealand Bi-national Colorectal Cancer Audit. Colorectal Disease, 23, 814-822. doi: 10.1111/codi.15445
Journal - Research Article
Fischer, J., Eglinton, T. W., & Frizelle, F. A. (2021). Clinical predictors of response to chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer as an aid to organ preservation. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 91, 1190-1195. doi: 10.1111/ans.16531
Journal - Research Article
Lau, Y. C., Schmeier, S., Frizelle, F., & Purcell, R. (2021). Consensus molecular subtypes of primary colon tumors and their hepatic metastases. Future Science OA, 7(7), FSO722. doi: 10.2144/fsoa-2021-0021
Journal - Research Article
McCombie, A. M., Frampton, C. M., & Frizelle, F. A. (2021). Quality of life preferences in colorectal cancer patients aged 80 and over. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 91, 1859-1865. doi: 10.1111/ans.16739
Journal - Research Article
Reynolds, M., McCombie, A., Jeffery, M., Mulder, R., & Frizelle, F. (2021). Impact of burnout on empathy. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1530), 12-20. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Richards, S. J. G., Cherry, T. J., Frizelle, F. A., & Eglinton, T. W. (2021). Pre-operative frailty is predictive of adverse post-operative outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 91, 379-386. doi: 10.1111/ans.16319
Journal - Research Article
Turner, G. A., O'Grady, M. J., Senadeera, S. C., Wakeman, C. J., McCombie, A., Purcell, R. V., & Frizelle, F. A. (2021). The prevalence of right-sided colonic diverticulosis in a New Zealand population. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 91, 2110-2114. doi: 10.1111/ans.16995
Journal - Research Article
Aitchison, A., Hakkaart, C., Day, R. C., Morrin, H. R., Frizelle, F. A., & Keenan, J. I. (2020). APC mutations are not confined to hotspot regions in early-onset colorectal cancer. Cancers, 12, 3829. doi: 10.3390/cancers12123829
Journal - Research Article
Aitchison, A., Hakkaart, C., Whitehead, M., Khan, S., Siddique, S., Ahmed, R., Frizelle, F. A., & Keenan, J. I. (2020). CDH1 gene mutation in early-onset, colorectal signet-ring cell carcinoma. Pathology: Research & Practice, 216, 152912. doi: 10.1016/j.prp.2020.152912
Journal - Research Article
Chittleborough, T. J., Gutlic, I., Pearson, J. F., Watson, A., Bhatti, L. A., Buchwald, P., … Wakeman, C., Eglinton, T., & Frizelle, F. (2020). Increasing incidence of young-onset colorectal carcinoma: A three-country population analysis. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 63, 903-910. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000001631
Journal - Research Article
Glyn Mullaney, T., & Frizelle, F. (2020). Quality of life outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for locally recurrent rectal cancer. Seminars in Colon & Rectal Surgery, 31, 100767. doi: 10.1016/j.scrs.2020.100767
Journal - Research Article
Hawkins, A. T., Wise, P. E., Chan, T., Lee, J. T., Glyn Mullaney, T., Wood, V., Eglinton, T., Frizelle, F., … Lightner, A. L. (2020). Diverticulitis: An update from the age old paradigm. Current Problems in Surgery, 57, 100862. doi: 10.1016/j.cpsurg.2020.100862
Journal - Research Article
O'Grady, M., Clarke, L., Turner, G., Doogue, M., Purcell, R., Pearson, J., & Frizelle, F. (2020). Statin use and risk of acute diverticulitis: A population-based case-control study. Medicine, 99(20), e20264. doi: 10.1097/md.0000000000020264
Journal - Research Article
O'Grady, M., Turner, G., Currie, W., Yi, M., Frizelle, F., & Purcell, R. (2020). Acute diverticulitis: An ongoing economic burden on the health system. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 90, 2046-2049. doi: 10.1111/ans.16234
Journal - Research Article
Peacock, O., Waters, P. S., Kong, J. C., Warrier, S. K., Wakeman, C., Eglinton, T., … Frizelle, F. A., & McCormick, J. J. (2020). Complications and 5-year survival after radical resections which include urological organs for locally advanced and recurrent pelvic malignancies: Analysis of 646 consecutive cases. Techniques in Coloproctology, 24(2), 181-190. doi: 10.1007/s10151-019-02141-4
Journal - Research Article
Peacock, O., Waters, P. S., Kong, J. C., Warrier, S. K., Wakeman, C., Eglinton, T., … Frizelle, F. A., & McCormick, J. J. (2020). Complications after extended radical resections for locally advanced and recurrent pelvic malignancies: A 25-year experience. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 27, 409-414. doi: 10.1245/s10434-019-07816-8
Journal - Research Article
PelvEx Collaborative, including Eglinton, T., Frizelle, F. A., & Wakeman, C. (2020). Management strategies for patients with advanced rectal cancer and liver metastases using modified Delphi methodology: Results from the PelvEx Collaborative. Colorectal Disease, 22, 1184-1188. doi: 10.1111/codi.15007
Journal - Research Article
PelvEx Collaborative, including Eglinton, T., Frizelle, F., & Wakeman, C. (2020). Simultaneous pelvic exenteration and liver resection for primary rectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases: Results from the PelvEx Collaborative. Colorectal Disease, 22, 1258-1262. doi: 10.1111/codi.15064
Journal - Research Article
Proctor, M. J., Westwood, D. A., Donahoe, S., Chauhan, A., Lynch, A. C., Heriot, A. G., … Frizelle, F. A., & Wakeman, C. J. (2020). Morbidity associated with the immediate vertical rectus abdominus myocutaneous (VRAM) flap reconstruction after radical pelvic surgery. Colorectal Disease, 22(5), 562-568. doi: 10.1111/codi.14909
Journal - Research Article
Richards, S. J. G., Jerram, P. M., Brett, C., Falloon, M., & Frizelle, F. A. (2020). The association between low pre-operative step count and adverse post-operative outcomes in older patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. Perioperative Medicine, 9, 20. doi: 10.1186/s13741-020-00150-8
Journal - Research Article
Richards, S. J. G., Senadeera, S. C., & Frizelle, F. A. (2020). Sarcopenia, as assessed by psoas cross-sectional area, is predictive of adverse postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 63, 807-815. doi: 10.1097/dcr.0000000000001633
Journal - Research Article
Smith, B. K., Roberts, R. H., & Frizelle, F. A. (2020). O2 no longer the Go2: A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the effects of giving perioperative oxygen therapy of 30% FiO2 to 80% FiO2 on surgical site infection and mortality. World Journal of Surgery, 44, 69-77. doi: 10.1007/s00268-019-05224-3
Journal - Research Article
Taylor, W. S., Pearson, J., Miller, A., Schmeier, S., Frizelle, F. A., & Purcell, R. V. (2020). MinION sequencing of colorectal cancer tumour microbiomes: A comparison with amplicon-based and RNA-sequencing. PLoS ONE, 15(5), e0233170. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233170
Journal - Research Article
Turner, G. A., O'Grady, M., Frizelle, F. A., Eglinton, T. W., & Sharma, P. V. (2020). Influence of obesity on the risk of recurrent acute diverticulitis. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 90, 2032-2035. doi: 10.1111/ans.15784
Journal - Research Article
Al-Busaidi, I. S., Bailey, T., Dobbs, B., Eglinton, T. W., Wakeman, C. J., & Frizelle, F. A. (2019). Complete resection of colorectal cancer with ovarian metastases combined with chemotherapy is associated with improved survival. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 89, 1091-1096. doi: 10.1111/ans.14930
Journal - Research Article
Keenan, J., Aitchison, A., Leaman, J., Pearson, J., & Frizelle, F. (2019). Faecal biomarkers do not always identify pre-cancerous lesions in patients who present in primary care with bowel symptoms. New Zealand Medical Journal, 132(1501), 48-56. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Lau, Y. C., Jongerius, K., Wakeman, C., Heriot, A. G., Solomon, M. J., Sagar, P. M., … Frizelle, F. A. (2019). Influence of the level of sacrectomy on survival in patients with locally advanced and recurrent rectal cancer. British Journal of Surgery, 106, 484-490. doi: 10.1002/bjs.11048
Journal - Research Article
Peacock, O., Waters, P. S., Bressel, M., Lynch, A. C., Wakeman, C., Eglinton, T., … Frizelle, F. A., & Heriot, A. G. (2019). Prognostic factors and patterns of failure after surgery for T4 rectal cancer in the beyond total mesorectal excision era. British Journal of Surgery, 106(12), 1685-1696. doi: 10.1002/bjs.11242
Journal - Research Article
PelvEx Collaborative, including Eglinton, T., Frizelle, F. A., & Wakeman, C. (2019). Changing outcomes following pelvic exenteration for locally advanced and recurrent rectal cancer. BJS Open, 3(4), 516-520. doi: 10.1002/bjs5.50153
Journal - Research Article
PelvEx Collaborative, including Eglinton, T., Frizelle, F. A., & Wakeman, C. (2019). Palliative pelvic exenteration: A systematic review of patient-centered outcomes. European Journal of Surgical Oncology, 45(10), 1787-1795. doi: 10.1016/j.ejso.2019.06.011
Journal - Research Article
PelvEx Collaborative, including Eglinton, T., Frizelle, F. A., & Wakeman, C. (2019). Pelvic exenteration for advanced nonrectal pelvic malignancy. Annals of Surgery, 270(5), 899-905. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000003533
Journal - Research Article
PelvEx Collaborative, including Eglinton, T., Frizelle, F. A., & Wakeman, C. (2019). Surgical and survival outcomes following pelvic exenteration for locally advanced primary rectal cancer: Results from an international collaboration. Annals of Surgery, 269(2), 315-321. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002528
Journal - Research Article
Purcell, R. V., Schmeier, S., Lau, Y. C., Pearson, J. F., & Frizelle, F. A. (2019). Molecular subtyping improves prognostication of Stage 2 colorectal cancer. BMC Cancer, 19(1), 1155. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-6327-4
Journal - Research Article
