Melissa Kirkwood, M.D.

Clinical Heart and Vascular Center

G. Patrick Clagett Professorship in Vascular Surgery

Surgery - Vascular Surgery
Endovascular Therapy - Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

New Patient Appointment Accepting Virtual Visits or 214-645-0538

Biography

Melissa Kirkwood, M.D., is an Associate Professor and Chief of the Department of Surgery’s Division of Vascular Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2011.

Dr. Kirkwood’s clinical interests include all areas of vascular surgery, as well as endovascular therapies and lower-extremity bypass aimed at treating peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and salvaging limbs.

An international expert in radiation safety, her research interests include radiation dose control, iliac artery aneurysms, simultaneous thoracic and abdominal endovascular aortic repair, and functional outcomes of limb revascularization for PVD.

After earning her medical degree at Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Kirkwood completed her general surgery residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center and a fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

As an undergraduate, she graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. degree from the University of Florida, where she completed a research fellowship in microbiology.

Dr. Kirkwood is certified by the American Board of Surgery in vascular and general surgery. She is also certified as a Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography.

Active in medical education, Dr. Kirkwood won the Surgery Core Clerkship Teaching Award and serves as the Associate Student Clerkship Director for Vascular Surgery. She also serves on the medical school admissions, surgical education, mortality, and surgical quality committees. She previously served as the assistant program director of the vascular surgery fellowship.

A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Kirkwood is a member of professional organizations that include the Alpha Omega Honor Medical Society, the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, and the Association of Women Surgeons.

Dr. Kirkwood has given over 20 international and national plenary talks and 52 regional presentations. She has written 20 first-author, peer-reviewed publications, as well as ten book chapters and nine invited commentaries in Vascular Specialist. She also serves as a reviewer for the Annals of Vascular Surgery.

She served as the section editor of the radiation safety module for the Vascular Education and Self-Assessment Program 4, as well as coauthored the Society of Vascular Surgery’s (SVS) radiation safety guidelines. She has also been selected by the Joint Commission to develop national radiation safety guidelines.

Dr. Kirkwood was included in D Magazine's Best Doctors list for 2016 - 2022, and was included in D Magazine's Best Doctors in Collin County list for 2021. In 2015, she received the S. Timothy String Award from the Southern Association of Vascular Surgery (SAVS) for best manuscript. In 2016 she received the SVS Women’s Leadership Award. Dr. Kirkwood has served on the SVS post-graduate and leadership committees, and was finance chair for the SAVS.

Meet Dr. Kirkwood

Vascular Surgeon Specializing in Aortic Aneurysms

“Whether I repair an aneurysm, treat venous disease, prevent a stroke, or save a limb, I find caring for patients with vascular disorders extremely rewarding,” says Melissa L. Kirkwood, M.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center's Chief of Vascular Surgery.

Dr. Kirkwood practices all aspects of vascular surgery, performing both traditional, open surgeries and less invasive endovascular procedures to manage conditions that originate in the blood vessels. These include aneurysms, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and peripheral artery disease (PAD).

“Because these patients often have very complex medical problems, they frequently require a higher level of care that I enjoy providing,” she says.

In addition to performing open and endovascular abdominal and thoracic aortic surgeries, Dr. Kirkwood performs conventional carotid endarterectomy and carotid stenting for the treatment of carotid artery disease.

For patients with PAD, she offers lower-extremity open bypass procedures as well as minimally invasive techniques such as balloon angioplasty, atherectomy, and stenting. Her expertise frequently helps patients walk without pain, heal chronic wounds, and save their limbs.

As the leader of UT Southwestern’s full-service vascular surgery vein clinic, Dr. Kirkwood evaluates and treats patients with a wide range of venous diseases, including varicose veins, spider veins, May-Thurner syndrome, DVT, and DVT-related post-thrombotic syndrome.

“Vascular surgeries are technically challenging, and I enjoy staying current with all the new innovations, devices, and minimally invasive procedures that are available so that I can bring the absolute best health care to my patients,” she says.

“I am very invested in the health of my patients and the relationships I develop with them. I share in their joy when I can help them get relief from their symptoms. UT Southwestern enables me to provide that relief by offering all aspects of state-of-the-art vascular care.”

In addition to her work with patients, Dr. Kirkwood conducts innovative research that is revolutionizing the way the vascular surgery field views radiation exposure.

“All of the endovascular procedures we perform as vascular surgeons require radiation and I study ways to lower the radiation dose to patients and operators during complex endovascular procedures,” she says.

She presents her research regionally and nationally and has written book chapters and vascular surgery board questions on this topic.

Education & Training

Residency - University of Chicago Medical Center (2004-2009), General Surgery
Fellowship - University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (2009-2011), Vascular Surgery
Medical School - Yale University School of Medicine (2000-2004)

Professional Associations & Affiliations

Society for Vascular Surgery, Vascular Education and Self-Assessment Program (VESAP3) Radiation Safety Question Writer (2013-2013), Vascular Education and Self-Assessment Program (VESAP3) Radiation Safety Question Writer
Association of Women Surgeons (2013)
American College of Surgeons, North Texas Chapter, Women in Surgery Representative (2013-2015), Women in Surgery Representative
American College of Surgeons, North Texas Chapter, Vascular Surgery Representative (2013-2017), Vascular Surgery Representative
American College of Surgeons, Fellow (2013), Fellow
Vascular Surgery Fellowship (2014-2017), Assistant Program Director
UT PACT surgery Coordinator (2014-2017)
Society for Vascular Surgery, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (2014-2017), Diversity and Inclusion Committee
UT Southwestern Mentoring Excellence Program (2015-2016)
UT Southwestern Medical School Admissions Committee (2015-2017)
Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, Finance Committee (2015-2017), Finance Committee
Society for Vascular Surgery, Post Graduate Committee (2015-2017), Post Graduate Committee
Society for Vascular Surgery, Leadership Committee (2015-2017), Leadership Committee
Society for Vascular Surgery, Committee on Consensus Guidelines for Radiation Safety (2015-2017), Committee on Consensus Guidelines for Radiation Safety
Medical Student Education Research Advisory Committee (2016-2017)
Joint Commission (2016), Technical Advisory Council for Joint Commission, focused on Fluoroscopy and Standard Survey Processes for Diagnostic Imagery

Honors & Awards

D Magazine Best Doctor 2016-2022
Best Doctors in Collin County 2021, D Magazine
Leadership Emerging in Academic Department (LEAD) Program, UT Southwestern Medical Center 2014-2015
Society for Vascular Surgery Women's Leadership Award 2015
S. Timothy String Award 2015, Best Manuscript Presentation at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery

Books & Publications

Publications
- Resistant, severe, desquamating dermatitis in a nickel allergic patient following nitinol stent placement in the popliteal artery for acute limb ischemia.
  Guerra A, Kirkwood M Journal of Vascular Surgery: Cases and Innovative Techniques 2017 3 1 23-25
- Lemierre's Syndrome associated Mycotic Aneurysm of the External Carotid Artery with Primary Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion in a previously healthy 18 year old female.
  Chamseddin KH, Kirkwood ML Annals of vascular surgery 2016 Jul
- New image-processing and noise-reduction software reduces radiation dose during complex endovascular procedures.
  Kirkwood ML, Guild JB, Arbique GM, Tsai S, Modrall JG, Anderson JA, Rectenwald J, Timaran C Journal of vascular surgery 2016 Jul
- Anterior Tibial Artery Pseudoaneurysm following Ankle Arthroscopy in a Hemophiliac Patient.
  Chamseddin KH, Kirkwood ML Annals of vascular surgery 2016 May
- Management of Lateral Plantar Artery Pseudoaneurysm After Penetrating Injury in Children.
  Andacheh I, Chamseddin K, Kirkwood ML Vascular and endovascular surgery 2015 Nov 49 8 247-9
- Surgeon radiation dose during complex endovascular procedures.
  Kirkwood ML, Guild JB, Arbique GM, Anderson JA, Valentine RJ, Timaran C Journal of vascular surgery 2015 May
- Sclerotherapy
  Kirkwood, ML Scientific American Surgery, Decker Intellectual Properties In 2015
- Radiation Safety
  Kirkwood, ML American College of Surgeons Vascular Surgery Text 2015
- Extracranial Carotid Artery Aneurysms
  Kirkwood, ML UpToDate 2015
- Deterministic effects after fenestrated endovascular aortic aneurysm repair.
  Kirkwood ML, Arbique GM, Guild JB, Timaran C, Anderson JA, Valentine RJ Journal of vascular surgery 2015 Jan
- Radiation-induced skin injury after complex endovascular procedures.
  Kirkwood ML, Arbique GM, Guild JB, Timaran C, Valentine RJ, Anderson JA Journal of vascular surgery 2014 Apr
- Low rates of complications for carotid artery stenting are associated with a high clinician volume of carotid artery stenting and aortic endografting but not with a high volume of percutaneous coronary interventions.
  Modrall JG, Chung J, Kirkwood ML, Baig MS, Tsai SX, Timaran CH, Valentine RJ, Rosero EB Journal of vascular surgery 2014 Mar
- Mycotic Inferior Mesenteric Artery Aneurysm secondary to Native Valve Endocarditis caused by Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus.
  Kirkwood ML, Knowles M, Modrall JG, Valentine RJ Annals of vascular surgery 2013 Dec
- Optimal medical therapy predicts amputation-free survival in chronic critical limb ischemia.
  Chung J, Timaran DA, Modrall JG, Ahn C, Timaran CH, Kirkwood ML, Baig MS, Valentine RJ Journal of vascular surgery 2013 Oct 58 4 972-80
- Surgeon education decreases radiation dose in complex endovascular procedures and improves patient safety.
  Kirkwood ML, Arbique GM, Guild JB, Timaran C, Chung J, Anderson JA, Valentine RJ Journal of vascular surgery 2013 May
- Extracranial carotid artery aneurysms in two of three monozygotic triplets with tuberous sclerosis complex.
  Kirkwood ML, Chung J, Timaran CH, Valentine RJ Journal of vascular surgery 2013 Jan
- Major Vascular Procedures
  Kirkwood, ML The Intensive Care Until Manual 2nd edition 2013
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: Arterial
  Kirkwood ML Rutherford's Vascular Surgery 2013 8
- Surgical and Endovascular Management of Iliac Artery Aneurysms.
  Kirkwood ML UpToDate 2012
- Diagnosis and management of Iliac Artery Aneurysms
  Kirkwood ML UpToDate 2012
- Lower limb revascularization for PAD using a heparin-coated PTFE conduit.
  Kirkwood ML, Wang GJ, Jackson BM, Golden MA, Fairman RM, Woo EY Vascular and endovascular surgery 2011 May 45 4 329-34
- Aneurysmal iliac arteries do not portend future iliac aneurysmal enlargement after endovascular aneurysm repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm.
  Kirkwood ML, Saunders A, Jackson BM, Wang GJ, Fairman RM, Woo EY Journal of vascular surgery : official publication, the Society for Vascular Surgery [and] International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery, North American Chapter 2011 Feb 53 2 269-73
- Simultaneous TEVAR and EVAR is Feasible with Minimal Morbidity and Mortality.
  Kirkwood ML, Pochettino A, Fairman RM, Jackson BM, Szeto WY, Wang GJ, Bavaria J, Woo EY. 2011 (6) 54 1588-1591.
- Thoracic aortic endograft explant: a single-center experience.
  Kirkwood ML, Pochettino A, Fairman RM, Jackson BM, Woo EY, Wang GJ Vascular and endovascular surgery 2010 Aug 44 6 440-5
- The use of arterial closure devices for incidental arterial injury.
  Kirkwood ML, Wahlgren CM, Desai TR Vascular and endovascular surgery 2008 Oct-Nov 42 5 471-6

Research

The natural history and potential enlargement of Iliac Artery Aneurysms following Endovascular aneurysm repair for concomitant AAA
Radiation dose control in complex endovascular cases
Racial and ethnic disparities regarding outcomes following infected aortic graft explants
Functional Outcomes of limb revascularization for peripheral artery disease using heparin coated conduits
Feasibility and safety of simultaneous thoracic and abdominal endovascular aortic repair in multilevel aortic disease