Matthew Darlow
Year
Graduated
Hometown
Houston, TX
What medical school did you attend?
UT Houston
What undergraduate school did you attend? What did you study?
Duke University — Neuroscience
What were you looking for in a residency program when you selected LSU?
In selecting a residency program, I was looking for a place where I would be exposed
to the widest range of pathology and patient population. We really see it all here.
On top of that, I was looking for a program where the people were easy to get along
with and the city was awesome! This program had it all.
What advice would you give to incoming residents?
Learn as much as you can during your sub-internship rotations and take in how awesome
this speciality is!
Resident Spotlight:
PGY-5 Matthew Darlow, a Houstonian by birth, chose not to follow in the footsteps of his parents, both attorneys. His familiarity with medicine began early on when he was able to shadow a general surgeon in high school. “I fell in love with the procedural aspects of the OR…it was very exciting!”
“One day the surgeon said, ‘OK, if you feel squeamish, take a step back from the surgical
field’—I immediately took a few steps forward!” Traveling East to Duke University,
Darlow majored in neuroscience and discovered a love of the brain and spine.
“I then attended medical school at UT Houston, which was a trauma-heavy program that
afforded me a fair amount of ER time. As I began to see orthopedic cases, I was fascinated…here
was someone who had a horrible time one day and was up and walking the next.”
And what was particularly intriguing about the spine? “The anatomy of the spine is
so complex…there is this intricate relationship with the spinal cord and isn’t it
just amazing how this ‘bag of noodles’ controls what we can do with our bodies? As
a spine surgeon you have a great opportunity to get patients back to living nearly
symptom-free.”
During his search for an orthopedic residency, Dr. Darlow knew one thing…he wasn’t
going North. “I can’t stand the cold, so that ruled out a lot of places. When I came
to interview at LSU, I was struck by how seamlessly the residents and faculty worked
together.”
“During my first year I got to do a scoliosis case with Dr. Andrew King, which set
the tone for a very hands-on residency. Unfortunately, COVID hit at the end of that
year so everything shut down. I was on trauma at the beginning of my 2nd year (2020),
and fortunately Dr. Abhishek Kumar let me get very involved in the OR.”
“During my 3rd year I traveled to other sites around Louisiana and began to develop
more autonomy and experience in the OR. In some rotations, we are the only provider
in the whole state, which is startling. We see so many people who have not been to
a doctor in years and, for example, have been dealing with a broken ankle for 10 years
and have a terrible deformity. The LSU residents take pride in caring for these patients...it
is very rewarding.”
“In my 4th year, I had the added responsibility of making my own schedule…and instead
of taking as much
trauma call, I am the person who stays at home and is called by junior residents for
guidance. I find this to be very meaningful and have learned that I enjoy some aspects
of teaching, i.e., helping someone understand why they do what they do and then see
them perform the task.”
In his 5th year as of June 30th, Dr. Darlow says he is in a transition phase. “Yes,
it’s exciting but also a bit scary because the oversight will soon be coming to an
end. I am almost done, and yet it wasn’t long ago that I was first starting.”
“LSU has been a profound, life-altering experience. I entered as an inexperienced,
wide-eyed intern and am leaving as a competent, prepared orthopedic surgeon with great
practical experience in caring for patients with complicated issues in a variety of
subspecialties.
When he heads for his spine fellowship at Florida Orthopaedic Institute (FOI) in a
few months, Dr. Darlow will carry the LSU experience with him. “Honestly, I couldn’t
imagine better place to train!”