By Gina Story

For more than 20 years , Dr . Don W . Brown has used his talents and his heart to treat patients in Kentucky suffering from vascular conditions .

Brown , a native Oklahoman , is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine who is board certified and fellowship trained in vascular surgery . He began practicing in Bowling Green in 2002 and in 2021 he decided to explore private practice in South Dakota but the people and the beauty of Kentucky never left his heart or mind . In July of 2022 he returned to Kentucky where he opened Southern Kentucky Vascular in Somerset .

“ They hadn ’ t had a vascular surgeon here in five years ,” Brown said , explaining why he chose to come to Somerset . “ There are a lot of people that struggle with health concerns . There are a lot of people who smoke and a lot of people who are diabetic and I felt they deserved to have state of the art local vascular care .”

There are some misconceptions surrounding what ailments Brown and his staff can treat .

“ People think we ’ re heart doctors ,” Brown said . “ We take care of people ’ s circulation . If people have blockages in the arteries in their legs , we fix that . We take care of carotid arteries ; we do all that .”

Southern Kentucky Vascular treats conditions including peripheral artery disease , varicose veins , venous disease , aneurysmal disease and carotid disease . This includes trans carotid artery revascularization stenting , advanced endovascular care , which means performing atherectomies that open up peripheral arteries that have been closed by plaque . Brown can also provide pedal access , deep veinous revascularization and do endovascular aneurysm repair . The office can also provide dialysis access .

“ I am board certified , fellowship trained and on top of the latest technology in the country ,” Brown said . “ Ultimately we ’ re trying to prevent amputations and loss of life .”

Typically , the patients who come to Southern Kentucky Vascular are referred by their primary

26 • SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky June 2023