Surgeon Dr. Nathan Orr doesn't believe in a one-size-fits-all philosophy

Dr. Nathan Orr didn't follow a traditional path to medicine, but now he's a vascular surgeon at UK HealthCare where he operates from the carotid arteries down to the arteries to the feet, as well as all of the veins that occur in-between. Dr. Orr joins us this week as our guest on Making the Rounds to discuss his trajectory to becoming a surgeon and what he finds so rewarding about helping others.

What got you interested in medicine?

Medicine wasn’t always my initial choice. I graduated with a business degree, so I was headed in that direction. I did some service out of  the country for a number of years. That helped me realized I enjoyed working with people and helping people. That got me more interested in the medical path, so then I started focusing on science classes and then I got into medical school from there.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I’m a vascular surgeon, but I consider myself more as a vascular specialist. Many of my patients not only need surgery but also need some lifestyle modifications and adjustments in their medications and areas where we can improve their health so we can give them a better, more durable treatment for their vascular disease. To me, that’s what I enjoy, and I appreciate those relationships you have with your patients long-term because of the nature of this condition.

Describe your care philosophy.

I think my treatment philosophy helps in the success for the patient as far as their surgical outcome. We will sit down and discuss what their options are and what the advantages and disadvantages are of each approach. From there we can decide what we feel will offer the best outcome. That changes for each patient. It’s hard to say one size fits all for the variety of conditions we see.

Watch our interview with Dr. Nathan Orr to see why he is so passionate about vascular care.