Dr. Varun Padmanaban is a specialty care physician board certified in neurosurgery. He joined Inova in 2025 and has been practicing since 2018.

Dr. Padmanaban is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon specializing in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery. He completed his neurosurgical residency and an open cerebrovascular fellowship at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA, followed by a neuroendovascular fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Dr. Padmanaban cares for the full range of neurosurgical conditions, with particular expertise in the endovascular and open treatment of cerebrovascular disorders including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs) of the brain and spine, head and neck vascular tumors requiring embolization, embolization of chronic subdural hematomas, Moyamoya disease, and carotid artery disease. He prioritizes the safest and least invasive treatment approaches and bases all care decisions on the most current, evidence-supported techniques.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Padmanaban is actively engaged in research and medical education. His research is primarily focused on quality and patient safety, with an emphasis on improving these efforts on a national level. Dr. Padmanaban actively serves in the Neurovascular Quality Initiative – Quality Outcomes Database Patient Safety Organization which works to advance national quality and patient safety in the treatment of brain aneurysms. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and serves as a reviewer for several leading neurosurgical journals including the Journal of Neurosurgery and Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery.

His achievements have been honored with the Duke Samson Award, granted by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He has received formal training in medical education as a graduate of the Hippocrates Scholars Program at Penn State College of Medicine and loves to actively mentor medical students and residents in neurosurgical training.

Above all, Dr. Padmanaban values long-term relationships with patients and believes that every patient deserves to feel informed, supported and genuinely cared for throughout their treatment journey. He prioritizes empowering patients and their families as they face difficult medical decisions.

Dr. Padmanaban lives in McLean, VA. Outside of work, he enjoys reading, running and hiking with his wife and their dog, Jasper.

PubMed Publications

Awards/Associations

• Duke Samson Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, 2023
• Axel K. Olsen, MD, Neurosurgery Award, 2018
• American Heart Association
• Society of Neurointerventional Surgery
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• American Association of Neurological Surgeons
• Pennsylvania Neurosurgery Society