Status: Providers

Naiem Nassiri, MD, FSVS, RPVI is a board-certified vascular surgeon, and an outgoing, meticulous, and innovative physician with broad clinical and academic interests.

Naiem graduated Cum Laude with his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, earned his Doctor of Medicine from Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, and was one of the first 6 individuals in the country to complete an integrated residency in vascular & endovascular surgery graduating from the Lenox Hill Heart & Vascular Institute of New York, Lenox Hill Hospital in 2013.

Before joining The Vascular Care Group, Dr. Nassiri served as Associate Professor of Surgery (Vascular) at the Yale School of Medicine, where he remains a voluntary, adjunct faculty; Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven, CT; Director of the Vascular Malformations Program, at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT; and an integral member of the world-renowned Aortic Institute at Yale, where he performed the first physician-assembled, branched, endovascular thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair at Yale New Haven Hospital in October 2021. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Vascular Surgery; serves as a Special Government Employee for the United States Food & Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health; and is a Key Opinion Leader, Medical Advisory Board Member, and Proctor for numerous industry partners in the aortic and peripheral space.

He was, previously, the Founding Director of the Vascular Anomalies & Malformations Program and, Co-founder and Co-director, Pelvic Vascular Disease Program at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ.

Throughout his career, he has had a broad range of experience in clinical research in vascular surgery where he has served primarily as a principal investigator. Dr. Nassiri holds a provisional international patent for “Compositions and Methods for Treating Slow-Flow Vascular Malformations” and has founded two companies related to vascular disease, with an emphasis and expertise in targeted intralesional drug delivery. He is currently the global principal investigator for the first-ever use of therapeutic ultrasound technology for non-invasive ablation of vascular malformations. As such, Naiem is a much sought-after speaker with podium presentations at international, national, regional, and local meetings, as well as numerous peer-reviewed journal publications, books, book chapters and educational materials.

As a provider, Dr. Nassiri has a special interest in the comprehensive diagnosis and multi-faceted management of vascular anomalies and malformations, including those in the pediatric population, as well as minimally invasive treatment of complex aortic pathologies, cervical carotid disease, pelvic venous disorders, and peripheral arterial disease. He is experienced and comfortable with open, endovascular, hybrid, and medical management for vascular patients, and enjoys working in and leading multi-disciplinary settings. He treats peripheral arterial, aortic, carotid, venous (superficial and deep) disease, provides and maintains dialysis access, and treats other pathologies that encompass the field of vascular & endovascular surgery, including those requiring advanced embolotherapeutic maneuvers.

Naiem is passionate about delivering outstanding, cutting edge, minimally- and non-invasive patient-centered care for his patients and he brings his extensive experience in clinical care, research, collaboration, and dedication to advancing vascular care to provide the best possible care to the patients of The Vascular Care Group.

Hector Simosa is a Board-certified vascular surgeon with substantial training in vascular care. He received his medical degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela and furthered his medical training by completing a General Surgery Residency at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital, Virginia Commonwealth University and Boston Medical Center, Boston University. Dr. Simosa completed his vascular surgery training at Harvard Medical School Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Vascular Surgery Fellowship. He also completed a Vascular Surgery Research Fellowship at Brigham & Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School. During his career, he has compiled various peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national meetings. He was honored with the Lester F. Williams Jr., MD Medical Student Teaching Award in Surgery at Boston University Medical School and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society. As a vascular surgeon, Dr. Simosa covers the full spectrum of vascular care, treating aortic aneurysms, carotid disease, deep vein thrombosis and venous disorders, renal mesenteric vascular disease, peripheral artery disease as well as managing lower extremity circulation issues and wounds in diabetic patients. He performs minimally invasive catheter procedures and open surgical reconstruction for patients. Dr. Simosa has been practicing vascular surgery since 2006. He is certified by the American Board of Vascular Surgery and in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), and Basic Life Support (BLS). He is also fluent in Spanish.

Alfred J. Phillips DPM, FACFAS is a Board-certified foot and ankle surgeon with more than 30 years of experience. Dr. Phillips received his undergraduate degree from St. Lawrence University before receiving his Doctorate of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) from Temple University. He completed a three-year residency in reconstructive foot and ankle surgery at HCA Doctors Hospital/Northlake Regional Medical Center in Atlanta, G.A. Over the course of his career, Dr. Phillips has treated patients at hospitals throughout New England. The majority of this time was spent actively training podiatric surgical residents at Carney Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, and, most recently, St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Brighton, Mass. Dr. Phillips has also served as the Chief of the Podiatry Division for Optima Health/Catholic Medical Center, Cambridge Health Alliance and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. He has served as president of the Massachusetts Podiatric Medical Association and has been a member of the American Podiatric Medical Association; New Hampshire Podiatric Medical Association; Podiatric Institute; American Board of Podiatric Surgery; and American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Dr. Phillips is Board-certified in foot surgery and rearfoot/ankle reconstructive surgery by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. As a member of the Podiatry Institute, Dr. Phillips has lectured locally and nationally on foot surgery to podiatry and orthopedic surgeons and is actively involved in research projects. He contributed to the McGlamry Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Textbook 5th Edition on Achilles Tendon Disorders. His clinical interests include treatment of painful flatfeet, osteoarthritis of the foot and ankle, diabetic foot reconstruction and limb salvage, revisional foot surgery, and sports injuries of the foot and ankle. When he’s not working, Dr. Phillips can be found hiking or taking long walks with his wife, Christine, and their dog, Maevie. He also enjoys birdwatching, kayaking, and watching his three children grow into independent young adults.

R. Todd Lancaster is a Board-certified vascular surgeon with more than 15 years of surgical experience. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Emory University. He also holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Lancaster completed his General Surgery training, as well as a fellowship in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. After completing his training, Dr. Lancaster joined the faculty of Massachusetts General Hospital and provided vascular and endovascular care at Massachusetts General Hospital, and affiliated hospitals in New England including Newton Wellesley Hospital, and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. During his tenure there, he held multiple leadership roles and was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lancaster continues to serve in leadership roles at Newton Wellesley Hospital including the Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Director of Quality and Safety for Vascular Surgery and Cardiovascular Center, Co-Medical Director of the Vascular Laboratory, and Associate Director of the Elfers Cardiovascular Center. In addition to working as an ad hoc reviewer for medical publications, Dr. Lancaster is a member of many professional societies and serves on various committees in the medical field. Dr. Lancaster’s research interests include studying clinical outcomes and safety, and his clinical interests include all aspects of arterial and venous disease, with a particular focus on peripheral arterial disease, aneurysmal disease, carotid artery disease, superficial venous disease, central venous compression syndromes, as well as renal and mesenteric arterial disease.

Dr. Kwolek is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Distinguished Fellow of the Society for Vascular Surgery. He is a highly experienced board-certified vascular surgeon and currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer at The Vascular Care Group (TVCG), bringing over 30 years of surgical expertise to the field. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Kwolek completed a general surgical residency at the New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Surgical Service and completed his vascular surgery fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital.   Dr. Kwolek subsequently pursued advanced Endovascular surgical training at the Arizona Heart Institute.  After becoming the Vascular fellowship program director at the University of Kentucky, he was subsequently recruited back to the Massachusetts General Hospital where he became the director of endovascular training for the Department of Surgery, the Vascular surgery fellowship director and founded the first integrated Vascular residency at MGH and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kwolek also received an Executive master’s in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, with a special certificate in healthcare management.

Dr. Kwolek has trained over 35 fellows and residents in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, served as a principal investigator for over 35 vascular clinical trials, served as an invited speaker and faculty member at numerous national and international symposium and published over 135 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.

Dr. Kwolek has extensive experience in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of patients in various clinical areas including but not limited to:

• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• Venous and Arterial disease
• Popliteal artery entrapment
• Aneurysm disease
• Hemodialysis and access work and
• Vascular Abnormalities

In addition to seeing patients in the Wellesley office, Dr. Kwolek also sees patients at the Atrius Health Needham practice.  He will be working in the Atrius Health Needham office on the 2^nd and 4^th Fridays each month.  He will be performing many of the procedures at the Vascular Care Group state-of-the-art office-based lab in Wellesley which allows patients to undergo procedures safely and efficiently while experiencing a swift recovery in the comfort of their own homes.  For those procedures needing to be done in the hospital setting they will be done at Newton Wellesley Hospital.

Scott Donald James, DO, RPVI is a Board-certified osteopathic and vascular surgeon with more than 20 years of experience. He is also a registered physician in vascular interpretation. Dr. James received his undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Brandeis University before receiving his Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine from the University of New England. He completed his surgical internship and general surgery residency at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before completing a vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey.

Dr. James has been a vascular surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth for over 18 years and is a medical consultant for Organogenesis Inc.

Over the course of his career, Dr. James has been recognized for his work, receiving accolades such as Top Doctor in Vascular Surgery, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Intern of the Year, and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Surgical Intern of the Year. He has also been the recipient of the Jeffrey Tourgian Memorial Scholarship and the UMDNJ Vascular Fellowship Award.

Stephen J. Hoenig is Board-certified in Vascular Surgery and has special certification in vascular imaging, endovascular interventions, and advanced wound care.  Born and raised in Massachusetts, he finished his undergraduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then received his medical degree from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and then went on to complete a fellowship in Vascular Surgery at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. He is Medical Director of the Advanced Wound Care Clinic in Concord, MA. His clinical interests include carotid artery and peripheral vascular diseases, aneurysmal disease of the aorta, hemodialysis access, varicose vein disorders, and advanced wound care.  He has been a speaker for carotid artery disease, endovascular aortic aneurysm repair interventions and advance wound care technology.

Christopher T. Healey is a board-certified vascular surgeon with extensive clinical experience in all areas of vascular surgery, as well as significant experience in research and medical education.

Christopher graduated Magna Cum Laude with his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. He then continued his medical education in Providence at Warren Albert School of Medicine at Brown University.

Dr. Healey’s graduate medical education continued at the University of Vermont where he completed his General Surgery Residency. While at UVM he was awarded the College of Medicine’s Resident Excellence in teaching award, he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Medical honor society, and awarded the Norman Snow award for excellence in Cardiothoracic Surgery. While at UVM his research centered on the pathophysiology of venous ulcers. He completed his post graduate training with his Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center.

Christopher began his Vascular Surgical career in 2007 in Portland, ME. He has served as Assistant Professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine. In addition to having a busy clinical practice his research activities included being local principal investigator on multiple clinical trials. The trials he lead looked at using stem cells to treat critical limb ischemia and the development of a novel endovascular aneurysm sealing device.

In the realm of surgical education Dr. Healey served as assistant program director for the General surgery residency at Maine Medical Center and then went on to become the first program director for the Vascular Surgery Integrated Residency.

Just prior to joining The Vascular Care Group team, Christopher served as the Medical Director at Maine Medical Center’s Wound Healing and Hyperbarics.

He is a current fellow of the American College of Surgery, as well as a member of the Society of Vascular Surgery, the New England Society of Vascular Surgery, the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, and the Wound Healing Society.

In his free time, Christopher enjoys spending time with his family and labradoodles. He is an avid fan of New England Sports teams: Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox, and Friars Basketball and Hockey.