UK welcomes a specialist in general and endocrine surgery to its faculty

The University of Kentucky’s Department of Surgery will be welcoming several new surgeons to its faculty throughout most of the summer and fall of 2017. One of the most recent to join is Dr. Reese W. Randle, a general surgeon with a specialty interest in endocrine surgery. Dr. Randle commenced his practicing on August 1.

Dr. Randle is originally from Houston, Texas. His father works in the oil industry “like nearly everyone else in Houston.” His mother is a long time school teacher.

The only member of his family to work in medicine is his uncle, a retired pediatric intensivist who practiced in the Houston area. Though he downplayed his uncle’s influence on his decision to enter medicine, Randle did say that his uncle conveyed a strong sense of mission and service to patients. His uncle regularly participated in medical mission work. Randle accompanied his uncle on medical missions to Honduras twice: Once while he was in pre-med at UT-Austin and a return trip while serving in medical school.

Randle said his interest in surgery solidified during his third year of medical school at the University of Texas at Houston. The discipline just “clicked with me. I felt that surgery allowed me to offer the most tangible benefit to patients,” he said.

He matched with the General Surgery residency program at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. While being trained at Wake Forest, Randle took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Howard Holt Bradshaw Surgical Resident Research Fellowship for a year.

It was at UT-Houston medical school that Dr. Randle first became interested in the functions of the endocrine system, but it was while serving under a great mentor during his surgical residency that he became fascinated with the subspecialty. He spent two years completing an endocrine surgery fellowship, including a one-year research component, with UW Health at the University of Wisconsin at Madison before accepting UK’s offer to practice in Lexington.

The endocrine system can be at the root of several systemic diseases, he explained. These diseases can be controlled or cured through minimally-invasive surgery. The results from this form of surgery can be profound at times. “When I found that I could combine my love of surgery with my interest in the endocrine system, the fellowship could not have been a more perfect fit,” Dr. Randle said.

He now looks forward to getting on with his professional practice. “UK has a great reputation. I could not have picked better partners and am grateful for the opportunity to work with them,” he said.

Dr. Randle is not the only health care professional in his family. His wife, Shannon, is a certified speech pathologist. They also have four children consisting of three young girls – Harper, Tatum, and Jude – and a son, Rhodes, who is the oldest.