Dr. Steven Silverman retired as of March 2026. Drs. Ulloa and Arosemena of Vascular Wellness Institute are now available and taking new patients. Same office, same friendly faces, and a new lens on your vascular care!
Dr. Steven Silverman retired as of March 2026. Drs. Ulloa and Arosemena of Vascular Wellness Institute are now available and taking new patients. Same office, same friendly faces, and a new lens on your vascular care!
Where Vascular Expertise Meets Gulf Coast Care
Vascular Wellness Institute brings together two things that are genuinely rare in community vascular care: a surgeon who can help you prevent major surgery through integrative medicine and evidence-based lifestyle intervention, and a surgeon who teaches the most advanced carotid stroke-prevention procedure in the country to other physicians nationwide. Dr. Kristian A. Ulloa and Dr. Mariano F. Arosemena have been in practice for 15 and 13 years respectively, and they founded this practice to give Gulf Coast patients access to a level of vascular expertise they would otherwise have to travel for. Both offices — in Sarasota and Bradenton — are built around the surgeons and supported by an experienced clinical team that reflects the same standard of care.
Most vascular practices treat disease after it strikes. Vascular Wellness Institute was built around a different premise: that the right surgeon, at the right time, can sometimes help you avoid reaching that point. Dr. Kristian A. Ulloa brings 15 years in vascular practice alongside quadruple board certification — including integrative and holistic health — which means he can evaluate the systemic drivers behind your vascular condition and build a medically supervised prevention plan alongside any surgical or procedural care. Dr. Mariano F. Arosemena brings 13 years in practice and a national role training other surgeons in TCAR — the most advanced minimally invasive technique for carotid artery disease and stroke prevention. Both surgeons completed their general surgery residencies at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Ulloa completed his vascular fellowship there as well; Dr. Arosemena completed his vascular fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Neither came to the Gulf Coast to build experience. They came with it.
Both Dr. Ulloa and Dr. Arosemena completed their general surgery residencies at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Ulloa completed his vascular fellowship there as well. Dr. Arosemena completed his vascular fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Both have been in practice for over a decade — 15 and 13 years respectively — bringing the kind of pattern recognition and judgment that only comes with deep clinical experience.
Dr. Ulloa’s quadruple board certification includes integrative and holistic health — meaning he can assess your vascular risk through advanced testing and work with you on targeted lifestyle modifications that may help you avoid or delay major surgery entirely. That is a rare offering in vascular care, and a meaningful one.
Dr. Arosemena is one of a small number of vascular surgeons in the country who trains other physicians in TCAR — the most advanced minimally invasive technique for stroke prevention. When you see him in Sarasota or Bradenton, you are seeing someone other surgeons fly in to learn from.
We chose Sarasota and Bradenton to build lasting patient relationships and serve the Gulf Coast region for the long term. Our practice is local by intention — not a corporate chain, not a satellite office.
Dr. Ulloa is the only vascular surgeon in the United States with quadruple board certification — in general surgery, vascular surgery, wound care, and integrative medicine. His patients receive surgical precision, wound care expertise, and a prevention plan, often in the same visit.
Dr. Arosemena is a nationally recognized expert in advanced endovascular surgery, including TCAR — a technique he teaches to vascular surgeons across the country. Fully bilingual in English and Spanish, he ensures every patient is heard and understood in their primary language.
Marianela Horta Acosta brings an extraordinary perspective to patient care — one shaped by 18 years practicing medicine in Cuba as a physician, a journey of courage and reinvention after emigrating to the United States, and a deep, faith-driven commitment to caring for the most vulnerable.
After arriving in the United States, Marianela found in nursing a path that honored her medical background and allowed her to continue the work she had always been called to: providing comfort, competence, and genuine human connection to patients and families. Her experience spans from nursing homes to assisted living facilities and home care — giving her an unusually broad understanding of patients at every stage of health.
Now having completed her Nurse Practitioner program, Marianela joins the Vascular Wellness Institute team with the same mission she has carried throughout her career: saving lives and healing souls.
Every recommendation we make is grounded in peer-reviewed evidence and current clinical guidelines. We follow the research, not convention.
Your vascular health is connected to your overall health. We address the systemic factors — inflammation, metabolic health, lifestyle — alongside surgical and procedural needs.
Where clinically appropriate, we pursue the least invasive, safest option. Many vascular conditions that once required open surgery can now be treated in an office setting with minimal downtime.
We build lasting relationships to monitor, prevent, and improve your vascular health over time. A one-time fix is not our goal. Your long-term wellbeing is.
HCA Florida Blake Medical Center — Bradenton, FL
HCA Doctors Hospital — Sarasota, FL
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center — Lakewood Ranch, FL
Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS) — Dr. Ulloa and Dr. Arosemena
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS)
Eastern Vascular Society (EVS)
Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery (SCVS)
American Venous Forum (AVF)
Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM)
Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)
Manatee County Medical Society
Latin American Medical Association
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Ulloa, Dr. Arosemena, or Marianela Horta Acosta, NP at our Sarasota or Bradenton office. Most appointments are available within one to two weeks. Same-week openings are sometimes available for urgent concerns.
Call to Schedule, or Request An Appointment:
