Sentara Vascular Surgeon Blends Surgical Skills and People Skills
"I enjoy developing relationships with my patients and their loved ones, understanding what their goals are and helping them get back to living their lives."
Solving Problems with Surgery
Dr. Reardon, a competitive athlete, played volleyball, soccer and basketball. She was always interested in physical health and wellness. In college, she fell in love with biology and medicine. "As a student, I shadowed several physicians in the medical field. I was really drawn to their patient-doctor relationship," she says.
In medical school, she found surgery a perfect fit for her skills and interests. "I enjoy being able to learn a skill, then apply it to fix a problem," she says. "And often, managing vascular diseases involves long-term relationships. I enjoy getting to know my patients—not only fixing their surgical problems but also following up with them and being involved in their lives."
Diagnosing and Treating Vascular Disease
Dr. Reardon and the vascular specialists at Sentara have experience diagnosing and treating a wide range of vascular conditions, from routine to complex. She treats people both for planned surgeries and those who come to the emergency room with vascular trauma.
"Vascular surgery covers a large spectrum of patients and problems, so there's a lot of variety," she says. Some of her clinical interests include:
- Aortic aneurysms: These are weakened and bulging areas of the aorta, one of the body's largest blood vessels.
- Arterial and venous pathology: There are several different diseases that can affect the body's arteries and veins.
- Carotid artery disease: This is a narrowing of the arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain. It's caused by the buildup of fatty deposits (plaque).
- Hemodialysis access: People with kidney disease need dialysis to remove waste from their blood. To perform dialysis, surgeons create an access point where blood will be removed for cleaning and later returned to the body.
- Peripheral vascular disease: In this condition, plaque builds up inside the artery walls, reducing blood flow to the limbs.
Vascular Care at Sentara
Dr. Reardon says one of the things that attracted her to Sentara was the large and experienced vascular team. That team works to stay on the cutting edge of vascular medicine.
They do most of the procedures using minimally-invasive and endovascular techniques. Endovascular surgery involves operating from inside a blood vessel and is performed through tiny holes rather than large incisions.
"Our vascular surgical techniques are constantly evolving. We're continually learning new skills and pushing the field forward," she says.
Background
Dr. Reardon attended medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and received general surgery training at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. She did medical research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., before receiving fellowship training in vascular and endovascular surgery at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
She and her husband enjoy fishing and spending time at the beach. In their free time, they stay active, playing sports and running around with their three dogs.
Dr. Reardon practices at Sentara CarePlex Hospital and sees patients in Hampton and Newport News, Va. Learn more about Sentara Vascular Specialists or call 757-395-1600 to make an appointment.