Lebanon’s love of sports runs as deep as the Cumberland River is long, which is why it makes perfect sense that Vanderbilt saw a need for a substantial sports medicine specialty office right here in the heart of our community. Orthopedic doctors Shaan S. Patel, MD, Lance LeClere, MD, and Hunter Welburn Hood, MD have teamed up as the leading physicians at Vanderbilt Orthopaedics, 1405 W Baddour Pkwy Suite 102, Lebanon not only to cater to adult reconstruction, sports, and hand/upper extremity surgery needs in the community, but also as leading care for Lebanon High School and the Nashville Predators.
We caught up with these three doctors to introduce them to the community.
Dr. Patel is an assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Vanderbilt, specializing in hand and upper extremity surgery. With his main clinical interests being treatment of any issues from the shoulder to hand, which include fractures, rotator cuff tears, carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, ligament injuries, and arthritis. He also performs shoulder arthroscopy, elbow arthroscopy, wrist arthroscopy, and shoulder replacements.
“I grew up in rural Alabama, so I understand the healthcare accessibility issues in rural areas. I’m glad I can supply Wilson County with a full-time shoulder to hand specialist, and I am the only full-time hand surgeon at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital in Lebanon,” Patel says, “As a first-generation immigrant, I instill the values of work ethic, dependability, and diligence to my craft and my practice in Lebanon and Mount Juliet.”
Dr. LeClare specializes in Orthopaedic Sports Knee and Shoulder Surgery and is the team physician for LHS and the Nashville Predators hockey team. Although he didn't have ties to Wilson County, he says he was struck by how much the community reminded him of my hometown in Southern Indiana when he arrived for his position.
“Our goal has been to provide subspecialized care to patients in Wilson County via Fellowship trained specialists. As we have continued to grow and become part of the community, we strive to maintain a focus of delivering high level, specialized care in a personal way. We want to always be available and accessible for our patients. Building a team that is focused on a Patient First mindset has been extremely rewarding.”
“While serving in the Navy for almost 20 years at this point, 15 on Active duty and 3 in the reserves, it has always been my goal to keep my patients in the fight. Keeping Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen healthy and ready to defend our country was the central focus of my practice. Whether that meant fixing an ACL tear or stabilizing a shoulder, it was mission essential that I returned our service members back to full health as quickly as possible. I also had the opportunity to take that mindset from my care of the SEAL Teams and Special Forces to the students and varsity athletes at the Naval Academy. I've now taken this mindset to the civilian teams that I take care of. Working with Jacob Woodard, ATC and Coach Chuck Gentry at Lebanon high school has been an incredible experience. It is so rewarding to help these young men accomplish their goals, and it is a humbling privilege to treat them and help them through their injuries. This year the Nashville Predators organization has adopted the Relentless mindset. As a medical staff, we are relentless in the pursuit of comprehensive care that helps the Preds stay on the ice in their pursuit of a Stanley Cup. We take those same principles, techniques, and treatment methods for injury prevention, treatment, recovery, medical innovation, and in-depth personal care for professional athletes and bring that approach to the Lebanon High School athletes, the Lebanon community, and all of our patients.”
Dr. Hood grew up in Brandon, MS, outside of Jackson, and has family in the Nashville area, though he was also new to Lebanon when he joined Vanderbilt just as they were finalizing the plan to transition here.
“Our new clinic location is ideal for our patients and staff as our practice is located in one central location where the clinic, hospital, and ambulatory surgery center are all within walking distance. This allows us to be more readily available for our current patients and anyone in the community needing expedited access to orthopaedic care,” he explained.
“At Vanderbilt, we have some of the nation's leading orthopaedic surgeons and we have the resources to provide personalized, evidence-based care for every patient, not just our professional and amateur athletes,” he says, explaining that his practice is predominately focused on anterior hip replacement, hip resurfacing, technology-assisted partial and total knee replacement, and complex hip and knee reconstruction for patients with failed joint replacements.
Mark your calendars for a FREE Sideline Emergency Medicine Primer for parents, coaches, and athletes on Saturday, July 27 at 8-10am at Lebanon High School. Participants will learn how to prevent and treat heat illness/heat stroke, basic CPR skills, basics of concussion symptom recognition and treatment, and more!
Visit vanderbilthealth.com/locations/vanderbilt-orthopaedics-lebanon for additional details.
Building a team that is focused on a Patient First mindset has been extremely rewarding.
