Alexander Schlachterman, MD

Dr. Alexander Schlachterman is a therapeutic endoscopist with Roper St. Francis Physician Partners Gastroenterology. He specializes in treating complex digestive conditions through endoscopic procedures, often providing an alternative to traditional surgery.  Dr. Schlachterman provides care for patients with diseases of the pancreas and bile ducts, swallowing disorders and early cancers of the digestive tract. He is board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, with advanced training in therapeutic endoscopy and third space endoscopy.

Clinical interests and services include:

• Early cancers of the esophagus, stomach and colon
• Barrett's esophagus and precancerous lesions
• Pancreatic and bile duct disease, including cancer, strictures and stones
• Gallbladder disease
• Swallowing disorders, including achalasia and Zenker's diverticulum
• Gastroparesis
• Acid reflux and GERD when medication hasn't worked
• Blockages of the esophagus, stomach, small bowel and colon
• Endoscopic weight loss procedures

Most of what Dr. Schlachterman does happens through a scope about as wide as a ballpoint pen, with an incision smaller than a thumbnail. Third space endoscopy works in a thin layer between the lining of the digestive tract and the muscle beneath it. That layer can be opened, worked in and closed again, which means a tumor can be removed, or a muscle can be repaired without opening the body at all. He describes the lining as a convertible top: "You get underneath it, do the work and close it back up."

For patients, the difference can be substantial. An early stomach or colon cancer that once meant removing part of an organ can sometimes be removed in one piece through a scope. A patient who can't swallow may be able to eat again. A patient whose bile duct is blocked and who is becoming septic may have the obstruction relieved the same day. Many of these procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis.

Dr. Schlachterman trained in these techniques at centers where they were pioneered. After completing gastroenterology and advanced endoscopy fellowships at the University of Florida, he studied at the National Cancer Center in Tokyo, one of the highest-volume centers in the world for endoscopic tumor removal. He then completed a third-space endoscopy fellowship at the University of Colorado. He has spent more than a decade performing these procedures and now teaches them to other physicians at courses across the country and internationally. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, most of them focused on establishing how these procedures can be performed safely.

He came to medicine from the laboratory. Before medical school, he worked as a research scientist alongside physician-scientists studying gene therapy, cancer biology and transplant rejection, and that experience shaped what he wanted from a career. He calls it bench-to-bedside medicine, the idea that a scientific discovery should ultimately help an actual person. That instinct still shows up in unexpected places. A problem he couldn't stop thinking about on a long run led him to design a patient safety device for stent procedures, which he patented and licensed and which is now under FDA review.

Dr. Schlachterman believes good medicine starts with listening. He works to understand not just the disease but the person facing it, including their concerns, goals and expectations, so patients feel informed and confident in their care plan. He also believes complex cases deserve more than one set of eyes, and he works closely with surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists to determine the right approach for each patient rather than defaulting a single perspective.

Dr. Schlachterman earned his medical degree from Universidad Central del Caribe. He completed his internal medicine residency at Hahnemann University Hospital and his gastroenterology and advanced endoscopy fellowships at the University of Florida. He is fluent in Spanish.

Outside of work, Dr. Schlachterman is a family man. He and his wife have two children in college. He runs, bikes, hikes, camps and snowboards, and he spends time at his workbench building and tinkering, which is where more than one of his ideas has started.