Renowned Vascular Surgeons Improve Quality of Life for Patients

Nationally, only 14 percent of vascular surgeons are women, according to the Society for Vascular Surgery. At the Albany Med Health System, women make up more than one third of our vascular surgeons—with numbers trending upward.

“Over half of graduating medical students are female and the representation of women in vascular surgery and surgical training programs is more than it has ever been before,” said Courtney Warner, MD. Dr. Warner joined Albany Medical Center in 2015. She is the director of the vascular residency training program and assistant dean for graduate medical education. “We’re going in the right direction.”

Vascular surgery encompasses a range of traditional and minimally invasive surgeries to treat problems with blood vessels—the network of arteries, veins, and capillaries that move blood around the body. There are numerous vascular conditions, with some of the more common including aneurysms, carotid artery disease, vein problems, blood clots, peripheral artery disease, and leg swelling.

Xzabia Caliste, MD, chose vascular surgery because of the diversity of the work— she can operate on the aorta and repair vessels supplying blood to the brain, abdominal organs, and the upper and lower extremities. She is certified as a Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation and trained to diagnose and treat all forms of vascular disease in both traditional open surgical and endovascular (minimally invasive) techniques.

“This is a very gratifying field because we can immediately affect change in our patients, improving their quality of life by the surgeries that we perform,” Dr. Caliste said, with the example of performing a bypass that allows a wound to heal that the patient has been struggling with for months.

R. Clement Darling III, MD, chief of vascular surgery, appreciates the team’s uncommonly higher female representation. “These surgeons were hired for their expertise. They are not only delivering top quality care to our patients and training our students, they are also serving as mentors and role models for the next generation of physicians and vascular surgeons.”

Albany Medical Center's vascular program has a long history of excellence and is renowned worldwide. It was among the first hospitals in the country to be verified as part of the prestigious American College of Surgeons and Society for Vascular Surgery’s Vascular Verification Program. The program’s vascular surgeons pioneered numerous procedures over the years, including those to repair abdominal aortic aneurysms and peripheral artery disease.

Albany Medical Center is the major referral center and the largest provider of vascular surgery in northeastern New York and western New England.

While she is a prolific surgeon, Dr. Caliste is most proud of the connection she makes with patients outside the operating room.

“Outside of the operating room is where trust and connection is forged for the life-long interaction that will occur,” she said. “I try to find common ground with the patient so that they can understand that we are both working towards the same goal. This helps motivate them to take a more active role in their own health care.”

See all vascular surgeons in the Albany Med Health System.