Thomas Naslund, MD
Matthew Simmons
By day he may be chief of vascular surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, but in the evenings Dr. Thomas Naslund is his daughter’s unpaid foot stretcher.
“My daughters dance competitively and foot stretching is part of the regime,” Naslund explains. “I have to push against my daughter’s foot and hold it in position for five minutes.” He laughs, adding, “We do this every night, and I get my exercise as well, since I have to get into all sorts of positions to push against her foot.”
Naslund can certainly relate to his daughters’ drive and need for discipline. He was drawn to the field of vascular surgery because of the complexity of the field.
“Aorta surgery was complicated; it was a big surgery,” says Naslund. “That’s what attracted me to the specialty. Ironically, now we perform endovascular repairs to the aorta, so often there’s not a need for a big surgery, as in the past.
“Catheter delivered techniques mean a big difference for the patient, in terms of both treatment and recovery,” he adds.
According to Naslund, he almost didn’t go into medicine at all. Although his father was a urologist, nothing in the medical field had clicked with him. Naslund started college undecided and was given an aptitude exam. The results suggested Naslund should go into computational science and math. However, Naslund was in a biology class that he was really enjoying. He disregarded the aptitude test, went to his biology teacher’s office, and asked him to be his pre-med advisor.
“As a child, I was into mechanical things; I was always fixing machinery,” Naslund says. “In a way, I still am, as I repair hearts.”
Thomas Naslund, 615-322-2343; ww2.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vascularsurgery/