Melissa Kanji Meghpara, DO

Melissa Meghpara, DO, is an attending vascular surgeon at MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute. As a vascular surgeon, Dr. Meghpara treats the whole spectrum of vascular disease, from the arteries to the veins, including carotid, aortic, and peripheral vascular disease.

Dr. Meghpara has been trained in both endovascular and open treatments. Providing the best individualized approach, she offers a minimally invasive endovascular approach whenever appropriate. Dr. Meghpara is highly advanced in endovascular techniques, and is able to offer a number of options that patients might not find everywhere. Procedures performed by Dr. Meghpara include EVAR (endovascular aortic aneurysm repair), TEVAR (thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair), and TCAR (transcarotid artery revascularization).

Dr. Meghpara's main clinical focus is in arterial work, primarily in endovascular approaches. She is interested in clinical research that explores practical improvements on modern methods–anything that …can enhance current treatment measures. She is excited about several new branch devices coming onto the market, and for new devices for the treatment of carotid, peripheral vascular, and venous disease. Dr. Meghpara is especially excited to offer a new method of transcervical carotid stenting using fusion modeling to create a 3-D model based on CT scans that can be overlaid onto patients during the procedure.

Dr. Meghpara received her medical degree from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYIT-COM), as well as a master's degree in Neuromusculoskeletal Science. After graduation, she completed a general surgery residency at Flushing Hospital Medical Center (Medisys) and served one year as the program's Chief Resident. Afterwards, she completed a 2-year vascular surgery fellowship at Maimonides Medical Center.

Dr. Meghpara has published five papers on vascular disease, received multiple awards, and is a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery, the Association of Women Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, and the Eastern Vascular Society.

Dr. Meghpara has known she wanted to work in vascular surgery since her first year of general surgery training. She looks forward to her day to day work and is always looking forward to new challenges.

Philosophy of care

"I think that all of our patients should be treated as if they're family. I treat every single one of my patients as if they were my family members. I provide the highest level of care I can. I'm also realistic and I think it's important to be honest with your patients as to what you can and can't do for them to provide a high quality of life.

"I'd like my patients to say that I not only provided a high level of care, but that I care as if they are my family members and that the ongoing relationship is something that they are happy to have. As vascular is a long-term relationship, I want patients and referring physicians to feel like they can easily speak with me regarding vascular concerns.