DAVID

AUGUST 2016

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Practicing What They Preach

Drs. Yevgeniy & Jeannie Khavkin Founders of the

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CANCER KILLER

CHEERS TO YOUR BRAIN

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CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY PERSONALIZED OPHTHALMOLOGY CARE

Dr. Jack Abrams is fellowship trained and was the first surgeon in Nevada to perform laser cataract surgery.

All Laser Cataract Surgery All Laser LASIK Surgery All Laser Cornea Transplant All Laser Intacs IMT for Macular Degeneration

Abrams Eye Institute 6450 Medical Center St. #100 Las Vegas, Nevada 89148 702 304-9494 abramseyeinstitute.com

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BANKING MEANS HOME Whether you’re buying your first home, financing your ultimate home or anything in between, Nevada State Bank has a team that will help you find the loan that’s right for you.

BRING YOUR BANKING HOME.

nsbank.com/Mortgage | 866.848.3903

*Subject to credit approval. Terms and conditions apply. ZB, N.A. NMLS# 467014

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August

Pulse

Live

Explore The month’s event listings to help plan your day or your stay.

24 Know Drs. Yevgeniy and Jeannie Khavkin founders, of the Khavkin Clinic.

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Devour here to find some of the best eats, drinks and foodie happenings in the Valley .

30 Sense Ezekiel Canseco was born with his heart outside of his body. He is all smiles today, thanks to Dr. Bohman and Desert Perinatal.

18

Desire Sin City abounds in worldclass shopping ... these are a few of our favorite things.

20 Discover Places to go, cool things to do, hip people to see in the most exciting city in the world.

48

Think

Grill

44 Another Way Non-invasive surgical procedures greatly improve recovery times and outcomes.

58 Dr. Dale Carrison Nevada’s Emergency Medicine Visionary The month’s spotlight on someone to know.

48 Cheers to Your Brain The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and 13 sommeliers walked into a bar...

34 Sense Doctors at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada use immunotherapy to fight cancer.

52 Bright New World Dr. Jack Abrams implants miniature telescopes in legally blind patients eyes, allowing them the gift of sight.

38 Taste Casa del Matador puts the “Olé” in restaurant row, Downtown Summerlin.

On the Cover

VEGASMD INSIDE

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AUGUST 2016

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Practicing What They Preach

Drs. Yevgeniy & Jeannie Khavkin Founders of the

AUGUST 2016

Drs. Yevgeniy & Jeannie Khavkin.

Natasha Isom Photography

www.davidlv.com

MIRACLE BABY

CANCER KILLER

CHEERS TO YOUR BRAIN

BRIGHT NEW WORLD

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Copyright © 2016 by JewishINK LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

DAVID MAGAZINE is protected as a trademark in the United States. Subscribers: If the Postal Service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we are under no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year.

The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited or contributed manuscripts, photographs, artwork or advertisements. Submissions will not be returned unless arranged for in writing. DAVID MAGAZINE is a monthly publication. All information regarding editorial content or property for sale is deemed reliable. No representation is made as to the accuracy hereof and is printed subject to errors and omissions.

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“I trust City National the same way parents trust us.”

City National’s expert advice and attention helps us to be more efficient in our day to day operations which means I can spend more of my time focused on our students’ success. For the last 30 years, 100% of our graduates have gone on to college. That’s the most important number I look at.

City National is The way up® for our school.

Jeremy Gregersen Head of The Meadows School Hear Jeremy’s complete story at Findyourwayup.com/TrustCNB

Find your way up.

SM

Call (866) 618-5193 to speak to a business banker.

©2016 City National Bank

Winner of six 2015 Greenwich Excellence Awards for Small Business and Middle Market Banking

City National Business Banking

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CNB MEMBER FDIC

7/22/16 12:11 PM

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2016 JNF National Conference New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10019 September 16 - 19, 2016 JNF’s National Conference brings together hundreds of committed Jewish leaders and philanthropists to learn about JNF’s ongoing vital work for the land and people of Israel.

Hear from JNF Chairman of the Board Ronald Lauder, BestSelling Author Bruce Feiler, Deputy Editorial Page Editor for The Wall Street Journal Bret Stephens, and Professor Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School, among many others!

Register today at jnf.org/nc

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max@davidlv.com editor@davidlv.com

Joanne Friedland

joanne@davidlv.com

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EDITORIAL

Calendar Editor Copy Editor Pulse Editor Special Features Editor Production Assistant Contributing Writers

Brianna Soloski

brianna@davidlv.com

Pat Teague Marisa Finetti Lisa Stark Zoë Friedland Marisa Finetti Jaq Greenspon Jason Harris

NATIONAL JEWISH CONFERENCE

NATIONAL FUND

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Janna Karel

2016

Lisa Stark

NEW YORK CITY

Lynn Wexler

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

Art Director/ Photographer Photographers

Steven Wilson

steve@davidlv.com

Marshall Bradford Natasha Isom

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Advertising Director

Love Grows In Israel!

To learn more, to get involved, to volunteer or to make a donation, please contact Shawn Willis, Las Vegas Director, at swillis@jnf.org or 702.434.6505 x985.

For more information on Planned Giving, contact Cynthia Hizami, Esq., Director, Planned Giving West Coast, at chizami@jnf.org or 323.964.1400 x962.

#JNFLasVegas

Joanne Friedland

joanne@davidlv.com

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SUBSCRIPTIONS 702-254-2223 | subscribe@davidlv.com Volume 07, Number 04 www.davidlv.com DAVID Magazine is published 12 times a year.

Copyright 2016 by JewishINK LLC. 1930 Village Center Circle, No. 3-459 Las Vegas, NV 89134 (p) 702-254-2223 (f) 702-664-2633

Bel

To advertise in DAVID Magazine, call 702-254-2223 or email ads@davidlv.com To subscribe to DAVID Magazine, call 702.254-2223 or email subscibe@davidlv.com

DAVID Magazine sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This copy of DAVID Magazine was printed by American Web in Denver, Colo., on paper from well-managed forests which meet EPA guidelines that recommend use of recovered fibers for coated papers. Inks used contain a blend of soy base. Our printer meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards and is a certified member of both the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. When you are done with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it.

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Monday, August 1 Belly Dancing 7 - 8:30 p.m. $10

MONDAYS

Wednesday, August 3

Scrabble - 9:30 a.m.

August 7 - 12

News & Schmooze Westside @ the J 10 a.m. - Noon

Jewish Senior Singles 6:30 - 8 p.m.

i s h Community.

TUESDAYS

JCC Maccabi ArtsFest, Stamford CT

August 8 - 12

Camp K’helah Pines overnight camp (SOLD OUT)

August 8 - 12

Princess & Fairies Camp

August 8 - 12

Magical Manners Camp

August 8 - 12

Mad Science Camp

August 15 - 19 Camp on Wheels (K-6th Grade)

Sunday, August 21

JCC Maccabi “Sin City Heat” Gold Medal Party 4 p.m. - Location TBA

Sunday, August 21

PJ Library “Back to School” 2 p.m. - Location TBA

Wednesday, Sept. 7

Thursday, Sept. 8

WEL @ Claim Jumper Noon - lunch & speaker

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Wednesday, Sept. 7

Jewish Senior Singles 6:30 - 8 p.m.

FRIDAYS

Sports Talk @ Suncoast Buffet - 9 a.m.

Canasta - Noon

Jew

MEL@ Suncoast Buffet 8:30 a.m. - buffet 9:30 a.m. - speaker

THURSDAYS

News & Schmooze Eastside @ CNT (55 N. Valle Verde Hdsn) 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

nnecting

Sunday, Sept. 11

J-Walkers Hike, 7 - 10 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 12

Belly Dancing, 7 - 8:30 p.m. $10

Sunday, Sept. 25

PJ Library “Rosh Hashanah“ @ Gilcrease Orchard - 2 p.m.

Aug./Sept. @ the

Mah Jongg

Frequently - Call for details

Women’s Catchball

Tuesdays & Thursdays or Sundays & Wednesdays 8 - 10 p.m.

JU (Jewish University) Fall semester begins in September watch for details

BBYO

Coming this Fall

Girl Scouts

Returning this Fall

JCC of Southern Nevada www.jccsn.org | 702.794.0090

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Contributors

Marisa Finetti

Jaq Greenspon

Jason Harris

Janna Karel

is a local writer, marketing professional and blogger. The Tokyo-born Finetti has called Las Vegas home since 2005.

She has written for such publications as Spirit and Las Vegas and Nevada magazines and has a healthy-living blog at bestbewell.com.

When she’s not writing, Finetti enjoys family time with her husband and two boys.

is a world traveling, dog loving, scuba diving, book collecting, writer currently residing somewhere in Eastern Europe. His words have been spoken by Capt.

Jean-Luc Picard and Robin Hood, been read by David Copperfield, and criticized by his 7th grade English teacher. He’d like to thank the members of the Academy, although he doesn’t know why.In his spare time, he’s a university professor and a kick ass uncle.

writes for a number of publications and websites. He specializes in food, music, and comedy writing. He has worked in almost every aspect of the entertainment industry. He has sold multiple screenplays, written awards shows and had a tv show on ABC for a minute. He’s still broke. And he loves his daughter Scarlett the most.

is a writer for Outdoor Nevada on Vegas PBS and a digital content producer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

When she’s not traveling, she spends her time rock climbing, playing board games with her friends, and planning her next adventure. To see more of her travel photos, follow her on Instagram @ jannainprogress

Lisa Stark is a communications professional with two decades of experience in television news and senior leadership positions as Vice President of Communications at Nevada Cancer Institute and Senior Communications Executive at Sher Fertility Institute, a national network of fertility clinics. In 2016, Lisa launched her own healthcare media consulting firm, Stark Media Strategies. Covering news and sports, Lisa anchored in seven television markets.

She once auditioned at ESPN but her favorite sporting events these days involve cheering on her three kids.

Lynn Wexler has been a feature writer and contributor for magazines and newspapers, locally and nationally, for over 20 years. She writes a monthly online column entitled Manners in the News, which comments on the behavior of politicians, celebrities and others thrust in the public arena.

She is the Founder and President of Perfectly Poised, a school of manners that teaches social, personal and business etiquette to young people.

She is a former TV Reporter and News Anchor. Of her many accomplishments, she is most proud of her three outstanding teenaged children.

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JFLV_50

Join the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas for a

50th Anniversary

Celebration T H U R S D A Y

9.15.16 THE VENETIAN L A S Marcello

V E G A S Ballroom

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pm

:30

pm

Cocktail Hour & Silent Auction

Dinner & Formal Program

ENTERTAINMENT

includes The Rat Pack, DJ Shai Peri

and more

Chairs: The Ventura Family Honorary Chairs: Past Presidents of the Board of Directors and Women’s Philanthropy Council Honorees: Trustees of the Original Incorporation of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas Past Board Presidents Dr. Hugh L. Bassewitz · Al Benedict · Dr. Allan N. Boruszak · David Dahan · Dorothy Eisenberg · Philip Engel · Elaine Galatz · David Goldwater · Daniel A. Greenspun · Senator Bill Hernstadt · Lloyd Katz · Jerome D. Mack · Arthur Marshall · Michael J. Novick · Hal Ober · Dr. Marvin A. Perer · Arne Ronsencrantz · Leonard H. Stone · Doug A. Unger · Robert G. Unger

Past Women’s Philanthropy Presidents Elizabeth Ackerman · Fran Fine-Ventura · Carolyn G. Goodman · Melanie Greenberg · Marlyne Kirshbaum Sandy Mallin · Lynn Rosencrantz · Janis Rounds · Dr. Roberta S. Sabbath · Reba Saiger · Heidi Sarno Straus Sharon Sigesmund Pierce · Leslie Simon · Susan K. Smith · Karin Sporn · Faye Steinberg · Carole Turk Rachel Ventura · Hyla Worth · Judy Frank · Edythe Katz-Yarchever

Trustees Al Benedict · Carl Cohen · Jack Entratter · Rabbi Aaron S. Gold · David Goldwater · Albert Goot · Max Goot · H.M. Greenspun · Stanley Irwin · Lloyd Katz · Edward Levinson · Jerome D. Mack · David Messing · Irwin Molasky · Allard Roen · Harry Wallerstein

You can honor our founders with a sponsorship or tribute ad.

Contact Stephanie Lahat at stephanie@jewishlasvegas.com for details.

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7/18/2016 8:44:42 PMPM 7/22/16 12:13

Nevada’s only Funeral Home and Cemetery combination dedicated exclusively to the Jewish Community • Southern Nevada consecrated Jewish cemetery • Proudly serving all Jewish denominations • Elegant 250 seat Allen Brewster Memorial Chapel • Knowledgeable and caring Jewish staff • Special Veterans Pricing Plan • Special Synagogue Pricing Plan • Burials out-of-state and Eretz Yisrael

Endorsed by the entire Rabbinic community, meeting the needs of every denomination with tradition and compassion.

Jay Poster Funeral Director, Manager & Founder

Sheryl Chenin-Webb Family Service Director

Kacia-Dvorkin Pretty Family Service Director

A Dignity Memorial® Provider

2697 East Eldorado Lane Las Vegas, NV 89120

702-464-8570

10 | www.davidlv.com

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We’ve got a lot to say about DAVID’s universe — where to begin? For starters we have a brandspanking-new website, and our publication has had a face-lift. It’s obvious the magazine’s look, feel and content have undergone a transformation. This is no small thing: We’ve been working on upgrades to our digital and print offerings for months, and we’re excited to unveil the results.

Everything started with our website; we had to rescue it from the Iron Age. The last six-plus years have afforded us a better understanding of what you want and how you’ve gone about trying to get it. e e fielded literally hundreds of suggestions, (some kind, others not), and have taken all of them seriously. e hope you find our site thoughtfully designed, with bright, interactive content. We wanted to present subjects in an intuitive way to add to your visiting experience. The site needed to cele rate great art and tease the terrific content that we publish each month in our magazine. Of course, nothing in the universe is ever perfect; we invite your feedback. Your experience is important to us.

The design process of our website served as the launch pad for the redesign of DAVID itself.

Early on in the process it became clear that the two products needed to express their genetic relationship. We did this through our choice of fonts, colors and stylistic embellishments. Historically, print publications have created websites. Now it’s going the other way. Many online magazines and news sites have started to create their own print publications. In this spirit, we’ve given DAVID a fresh new redesign. ach August A I gra s its stethoscope and goes medical. his month it s ith a significant rebranding. Say goodbye to Medical Mavens, say hello to VEGASMD. We don’t publish lists of Top Docs or hand out awards; we leave that to others. Hard-hitting journalism is our sweet spot, and providing useful content. Our mission is to elevate your knowledge. Get ready to see more of VEGASMD in the years to come. Guided by the maxim that “good doctors require good patients” we intend to curate with subjects that inspire and enlighten.

Remember that old adage about needing to consult Dr. McCarran in an emergency? Well, it’s oth dated and insulting to the alley s medical community these days. as egas oasts fine doctors, thank you very much, and major medical institutions that lead the nation in patient care and research. ext year a ne medical school at ill accept its first freshman class. ogether, with the other two medical schools, residency programs, teaching hospitals and research foundations, Las Vegas is fast becoming a premier medical care destination. Dr. McCarran’s getting busy again all right. But this time it’s with incoming patients.

Once again, I invite you to kick the tires of our new website and enjoy this month’s redesigned publication. If you understand Yiddish, we’ve given our kishkes (guts) to this reboot. But don’t be surprised if we make even more changes in the months and years to come. For now, see you in the racks.

Max D. Friedland max@davidlv.com

www.kingdavidlv.com

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From the Publisher

1/25/16 9:30 AM

7/22/16 5:12 PM

Pulse

"The hills are alive with the sound of music."The Smith Center presents the Rogers and Hammerstein's hit show, Aug. 2-14.

Explore | 12

Super Toy Con, the largest diecast, toy, comic and pop culture convention in Las Vegas at The Orleans Arena, Aug. 5-7 Explore | 12

Barbara Streisand is ack, her ďŹ rst concert in four years and her ďŹ rst at the T-Moble Arena, One night only, Aug. 6.

Explore | 13

Peter Frampton teams up with Lynyrd Skynyrd at The Chelsea, The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas for one night, Aug. 19.

Explore | 13

Your Guide to the Arts, Entertainment and Community Events.

What's Hot this Month in Dining, Shopping and Local Attractions.

The Hana Berri at Sake Rok, located at The Park, is an easy-drinking, warmweather cocktail garnished with an orchid.

Devour | 17

Button up your overcoat in this stylish Alethea coat by Kate Spade at Fashion Show and Grand Canal Shoppes.

Desire | 18

Namaste! Get your silent savasana on 550 feet in the air. Take in the spectacular view from the High Roller at the LINQ. Discover | 20

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Explore

The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com

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MELVINS: 8 p.m., $20. Backstage Bar and Billiards, 601 Fremont Street, Las Vegas. 702382-2227. backstagebarlv.com ROD STEWART: Through Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., $49$250. Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 866-227-5938. caesarspalace.com JENNIFER LOPEZ: Through Aug. 13, 9 p.m., $59-$229. Planet Hollywood, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 866-919-7472. planethollywoodresort.caesars.com

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LAS VEGAS STORIES - THE HISTORY OF BURLESQUE IN LAS VEGAS: 7 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-507-3459. lvccld.org THE STONE FOXES WITH CAMERON CALLAWAY: 9 p.m., free. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas ANDREW MCMAHON IN THE WILDERNESS: 7 p.m., $25.50-$29.50. Fremont Country Club, 601 Fremont Street, Las Vegas. 702-382-6601. delanolasvegas.com EASY 8S: 9 p.m., $10-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com

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52 FRIDAYS - RICKY NELSON REMEMBERED, STARRING MATTHEW AND GUNNAR NELSON: 8 p.m., $19. Golden Nugget, 129 Fremont Street, Las Vegas. 702-385-7111. goldennugget.com

GWEN STEFANI, WITH EVE: Aug.19, 7 p.m., $39.95. T-Mobile Arena, 3780 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. t-mobilearena.com

August 1

SPACETIME KINETICS: Through Sept. 30, times vary, free. Delano Las Vegas, 3940 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-632-7888. delanolasvegas.com CLUB READ: Through Aug. 20, free. All Las Vegas Clark County Library District locations. lvccld.org

YOUSUF KARSH - ICONS OF THE 20TH CENTURY: Through Sept. 5, times vary, costs vary. Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 888-987-6667. bellagio.com

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RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEINS THE SOUND OF MUSIC: Through Aug. 14, times vary, $29.

OLETA ADAMS: Through Aug. 6, times vary, $39.

The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com LOUIE ANDERSON: Through Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m., $15. South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-796-7111. southpointcasino.com SUPER TOY CON: Through Aug. 7, times vary, $12. Orleans, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-284-7777. orleans.com KATHLEEN MADIGAN: 10 p.m., $29.99. Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-7917111. mirage.com

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ROB STALEY: Through Aug. 6, 10 p.m., $10-$20.

Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com

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HUNTER HAYES WITH SPECIAL GUEST CASSADEE POPE: 8 p.m., $30-$55.

Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas. com BARBRA STREISAND: 8 p.m., $100-$505.

T-Mobile Arena, 3780 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. t-mobilearena.com JAY LENO: 10 p.m., $59.99. Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-791-7111. mirage. com

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FRANK LASPINA: 2 p.m., $25. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702749-2012. thesmithcenter.com SIN CITY OPERA - THOSE FACHING TENORS & OPERA INNAMORATA: 2 p.m., free. Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, Las Vegas. 702507-3860.

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NEW BREED BRASS BAND: 8 p.m., free. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-

862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas VANS WARPED TOUR, PRESENTED BY JOURNEYS: 2 p.m., $35. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-693-5000. hardrockhotel.com

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THE COMPOSERS SHOWCASE OF LAS VEGAS: 10:30 p.m., $20. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-7492012. thesmithcenter.com

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EASY 8S: 9 p.m., $10-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com

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THE BIRD DOGS - THE EVERLY BROTHERS EXPERIENCE: Through Aug. 13, 8 p.m., $19.95.

Orleans, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas.

702-284-7777. orleans.com PERFORMING & VISUAL ARTS SUMMER CAMP FOR KIDS 2016 - 20TH ANNIVERSARY GALA: 7 p.m., cost TBA. West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-5073989. lvccld.org “KUMUKAHI" UKULELE AND HULA FESTIVAL: Through Aug. 13, times vary, $25. Sam's Town, 5111 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas. 702-4567777. samstownlv.com 40 OZ. TO FREEDOM: 8 p.m., $12. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas

HOMEMADE CHICKEN SOUP

52 FRIDAYS - THE BUCKINGHAMS: 8 p.m., $19.

Golden Nugget, 129 Fremont Street, Las Vegas.

702-385-7111. goldennugget.com CLINT HOLMES: Through Aug. 14, times vary, $37. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com EARL TURNER CELEBRATING MUSICAL ICONS: Through Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m., $20. South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702796-7111. southpointcasino.com

Barbara Streisand, Aug.6

SUMMERLAND TOUR, FEATURING SUGAR RAY, EVERCLEAR, LIT, AND SPONGE: Time TBA, $20. Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, 200 S. 3rd Street, Las Vegas. 800-745-3000. dlvec.com

STILL THE BEST MEDICINE 301 N. Buffalo Drive

702-255-3444

www.thebagelcafelv.com

WhereTheLocalsEat.com

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STEVE MILLER BAND: 8 p.m., $39$59. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com SHOOTER JENNINGS: 8 p.m., $25-$30.

Fremont Country Club, 601 Fremont Street, Las Vegas. 702-382-6601.

GEORGE LOPEZ: Through Aug. 13, 10 p.m., $29.99. Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-791-7111. mirage.com STARSHIP TOUR: 8 p.m., $25. Boulder Station, 4111 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas. 702-4327777. sclv.com/boulder-station HONKY TONK BOOMBOX: Through Aug. 13, 10 p.m., $10-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com MUSIC FOR A MISSION, BONE THUGS -N-HARMONY: o eneďŹ t oys and Girls lu of Southern Nevada. Time and cost TBA. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas.

702-693-5000. hardrockhotel.com

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COYOTE COUNTRYFEST: 6 p.m., $20. Orleans Arena, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas.

702-284-7777. orleans.com

LION BABE: 9 p.m., $15. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas

REBELUTION: 7:30 p.m., $39.10-$104.10.

Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-632-7777. mandalaybay.com

DEMI LOVATO AND NICK JONAS - FUTURE NOW TOUR: ime A, . . G Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-8911111. mgmgrand.com

NEW FRONTIER: Through Aug. 20, 9 & 10 p.m., $10-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com

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SIN CITY OPERA - OPERATIC TENOR CRAIG ALAN THOMAS AND THE SUMMERLIN CHAMBER ENSEMBLE: 2 p.m., free. Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, Las Vegas. 702507-3860.

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KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS WITH YOUR FRIEND: 8 p.m., $20. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas

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THE FIXX: 8 p.m., $27.50. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas DAVE DAMIANI AND RENEE OLSTEAD BENDING THE STANDARD: 7 p.m., $25. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-749-2012. thesmithcenter.com

THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS: 9 p.m., $15-$17. Backstage Bar and Billiards, 601 Fremont Street, Las Vegas. 702-382-2227. backstagebarlv.com DIGABLE PLANETS WITH CAMP LO: 9 p.m., $25. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/ las-vegas 52 FRIDAYS - PAUL REVERE'S RAIDERS WITH MITCH RYDER: p.m., . Golden ugget, 129 Fremont Street, Las Vegas. 702-385-7111. goldennugget.com DAVE KOZ AND DAVID SANBORN - SIDE BY SIDE: 7:30 p.m., $29. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-7492012. thesmithcenter.com TONY ORLANDO: Through Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., $45. South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-796-7111. southpointcasino.com LYNYRD SKYNYRD AND PETER FRAMPTON: 6:50 p.m., $50. Cosmopolitan, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-698-7000. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com GWEN STEFANI, WITH EVE: 7 p.m., $39.95.

T-Mobile Arena, 3780 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. t-mobilearena.com AN EVENING WITH HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS: 9 p.m., $49.50-$85. Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-632-7777. mandalaybay.com RON WHITE: Through Aug. 20, 10 p.m., $59.99.

Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas.

702-791-7111. mirage.com

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BRASS TRANSIT - THE MUSICAL LEGACY OF CHICAGO: Through Aug. 21, 8 p.m., $19.95.

Orleans, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas.

702-284-7777. orleans.com Steve Miller Band, Aug.12

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SILVERSUN PICKUPS WITH A SILENT FILM AND KIEV: 9 p.m., $31. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas CHADWICK JOHNSON - REMEMBER LOVE: Times vary, $25. The Smith Center, 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-7492012. thesmithcenter.com AFAN'S BLACK AND WHITE BALL: 7 p.m.-12 a.m., $50, $125. Aria, Pinyon Ballroom, 3730 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas. 702-382-2326. afanlv.org JACKSON BROWNE: 8 p.m., $66. Palms, 4321 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-942-7777. palms.com

21

SLIPKNOT WITH MARILYN MANSON: Time and cost TBA. T-Mobile Arena, 3780 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., Las Vegas. 702-692-1600. t-mobilearena.com CULTURE CLUB: 8 p.m., $70. Palms, 4321 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. 702-942-7777. palms.com

The Go-Go's, Aug.26

Fremont Street, Las Vegas. 702-385-7111.

KOOL & THE GANG "KEEPIN' THE FUNK

goldennugget.com

ALIVE" TOUR: 7:30 p.m., $49. Orleans, 4500 W.

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2016 FESTIVAL: 12 p.m.,

Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-284-7777. orleans.com

JCC MACCABI TEAM LAS VEGAS GOLD MEDAL PARTY: 4 p.m., free. For more information, contact Elizabeth Bricker at ebricker@jccsn.org. jccsn.org

$199. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las

Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-632-7777.

SIN CITY OPERA - LITERATURE TO LIFE, AN OPERATIC JOURNEY: 2 p.m., free. Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, Las Vegas. 702507-3860.

28, 7:30 p.m., $20. South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-796-7111.

mandalaybay.com

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MARIAH CAREY: Through Aug. 31, 8 p.m., $55$250. Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 866-227-5938. caesarspalace.com

25

SCOTTY ALEXANDER BAND: Through Aug. 27, 9 & 10 p.m., $10-$20. Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-894-7111. treasureisland.com

Vegas. 702-693-5000. hardrockhotel.com WINTER DANCE PARTY: Through Aug.

southpointcasino.com OUTCRY - SUMMER 2016 TOUR: 6:30 p.m., $29.95. Orleans, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas. 702-284-7777. orleans.com THE GO-GO'S: 9 p.m., $39.50-$45. Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702632-7777. mandalaybay.com CHRIS D'ELIA: Through Aug. 27, 9 & 10 p.m., $29.99. Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-791-7111. mirage.com

27

JOURNEY AND THE DOOBIE BROTHERS: Time and cost TBA. Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las

28 EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY: 8 p.m., $20. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas

30

DEFTONES WITH SPECIAL GUESTS YELAWOLF AND SISTER CRAYON: 8 p.m., $44.20. Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 702-693-5000. hardrockhotel.com

31

40TH MRS. AMERICA PAGEANT: 10 a.m,

BILLY IDOL: 8 p.m., $79.50. Mandalay Bay, 3950

MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD SOULROCKER TOUR: 9 p.m., $35. Brooklyn Bowl, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702862-2695. brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas

cost TBA. Westgate Resort and Casino, 3000

Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas. 702-632-7777. mandalaybay.com

52 FRIDAYS - GARY LEWIS AND THE PLAYBOYS: 8 p.m., $19. Golden Nugget, 129

Events Center, 200 S. 3rd Street, Las Vegas.

26

Paradise Road, Las Vegas. 888-796-3564. mrsamerica.com YES: Time TBA, $40.83. Downtown Las Vegas 800-745-3000. dlvec.com

To submit your event information, email calendar@davidlv.com by the 15th of the month prior to the month in which the event is being held. www.davidlv.com | 15

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th Sunday, Oct. 30 12PM - 4PM

Temple Beth Sholom 007 770 HHavenwood LLa aan 10700 10700 00700 7000 000Havenwood Haav Ha avve veen ennw nwwo wooo oood oddLane LLane anne nee Las LasVegas, Vegas,NV NV 89135 89135

America's #1 Country Music Talent Search Is Comin' To Vegas, Baby!

FOR INFORMATION CALL: 702.794.0090 · JCCBBQ.COM

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/JCCBBQ

7/22/16 12:19 PM

Devour Must Have Mushi We all love Topgolf Las Vegas and know there’s a lot more to offer than irons and drivers. The way to wait for your turn in style is by satisfying the tummy with Mushi. An exclusive dish to Topgolf, Mushi features cilantro sticky rice, drunken beans, spiced chicken, cheddar cheese, sour cream and avocado, all wrapped in a jalapeño tortilla and served with Sriracha hot sauce. It’s a hearty dish, packed with flavor and texture; when your turn does come around again, you may just pass.

Topgolf Las Vegas, 4627 Koval Lane, Las Vegas. 702-933-8458

Floral Elixir The Hana Berri at Sake Rok, located at The Park, is an easy-drinking, warmweather cocktail that fuses the right amount of sake and sweetness.

“Despite mixing two types of sake, as well as Bols Elderflower Liqueur, the Hana Berri has a refreshing taste that is smooth on the palate and perfect for pairing with sushi and our specialty dishes,” says bar manager Aby Mercado.

Ingredients: • 1 ½ oz. Tozai Snow Maiden Nigori Sake • o . ols lderflo er i ueur • 1 oz. Berry Tea Syrup • 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice • Banzai Bunny Sparkling Blueberry Sake • Orchid Method: Combine Tozai Snow Maiden Nigori Sake, Bols Elderflower Liqueur, Berry Tea Syrup and Lemon Juice in a shaker. Shake and pour over ice in a rocks glass.

Top with Banzai Bunny Sparkling Blueberry Sake.

Summer’s Tasty Stack

Garnish: Add a purple orchid for a beautiful garnish.

They say that what grows together goes together. In the case of watermelon and tomatoes, this is true. Public School 702’s new summer menu recognizes nature’s celebration of the summer harvest. A new addition to the Downtown Summerlin restaurant’s menu includes this delicious grilled watermelon and heirloom tomato stack. Sliced heirloom tomatoes, grilled watermelon, feta cheese, balsamic reduction and mint and marcona almonds create a cool, refreshing reminder that summer’s here to stay.

Sake Rok, 8786 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702-706-3022

Public School 702, Downtown Summerlin, 1850 Festival Plaza Drive, Las Vegas. 702-749-3007. www.davidlv.com | 17

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Desire

Fall Preview ne doesn t ha e to ait for the fall season to ear a se uin skirt. lack and sil er mix on comforta le mesh ith jersey lining. . . H&M, Downtown Summerlin, 1940 Park Center Dr., Las Vegas. 855-466-746.

or the ďŹ rst sight of chill, gra the ersatile Alethea coat y ate pade e York. The unique shiny patent trim alone is worth the splurge. $998. Fashion Show, Grand Canal Shoppes, 337 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702-564-2812.

Sweet Straight jeans with floral embellishments by Lucky Brand is the ultimate go-to pair that prefers to spend time outside of the closet. $119. Lucky Brand, Town Square Las Vegas, 6551 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702-614-5260.

tep into fall ith the lack lyse shoes from tella c artney, hich features a s uare toe, a lace up front fastening, and a hite and ooden platform sole. .

Stella McCartney, Shops at Crystals, 3720 Las Vegas Blvd., S. Las Vegas. 702-798-5102.

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The exquisite “Paloma Clutch” provides your wardrobe with a touch of timeless elegance. The fold-over flap with magnetic fastening is adorned with signature spikes in a feminine diagonal pattern. Wear it as as a clutch, or over the shoulder with its optional metallic chain strap. $1,150. Christian Louboutin, Forum Shops at Caesars, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702-818-8444.

Blue blazer in Trofeo cashmere fabric breathes fall in the overall look, with burgundy graphic macro check. $2,495. Ermenegildo Zegna, Forum Shops at Caesars, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702-474-4246.

Italian-made Tom Ford “Stephen” sunglasses are crafted with thick acetate frames, rounded rectangular lenses and a signature “T” inset at temple. $380. Ilori, The Shops at Crystals, 3720 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702597-3937.

You’ll be ready for drinks with Salvatore Ferragamo’s playful red and multicolored martini-glass-print silk twill necktie. $190. Salvatore Ferragamo, The Grand Canal Shoppes, 3327 Las Vegas Blvd., S., Las Vegas. 702-369-0251.

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Discover Elevated Journey While perhaps gaining heightened awareness and energy, yoga practitioners can now enjoy sessions on the igh oller at he I . At 550 feet in the air, guests can intone their m s amid reathtaking ie s. er the course of two rotations, up to six guests per cabin can experience an instructor-led, onehour yoga session. Headsets provided will enable yogis to hear both the instructor and soothing music, a technique designed to offer a more individualized, soothing and focused session, along with glorious views of the Las Vegas Strip and skyline. Sessions are available daily, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., for $75 per person. A premium sunset option, one-onone yoga, and couples yoga are also available.

For reservations, call 702-322-0537 or visit . aesars.com I igh oller.

Palette Serenade he recent surge in e enings spent painting on can as ith friends has taken a fresh turn ith alette erenade at he ark et een e ork, e ork otel asino and onte arlo esort asino. n the last Wednesday of each month, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., locals and visitors alike can enjoy li e music and food hile painting a masterpiece. hoose from a selection of four Las Vegas-themed paintings on 10-by-10-inch canvases. Advance tickets ($25) are available at www.pinotspalette.com.

Just Blowouts Founder Alli Webb had this idea that women needed a stylish place to enjoy the “affordable luxury” of a professional blowout, so she created Drybar. Now open inside the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, the flagship shop is a bright, clean space, popping with joyous and pure colors of white and yellow. Off to the side, a full bar awaits, with choices of cocktails and bubbly. A DJ comes in daily, and a photo booth stands y to capture the finished look. he ry ar s signature no cuts, no color, just lo outs is ound to oost spirits and self confidence in an hour.

Drybar Las Vegas, 3663 S. Las Vegas Blvd. #180, Las Vegas. 702-560-5243.

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Live

A Focus on Living in Las Vegas People and Places Arts and Entertainment Food and Beverage Philanthropy and Religion Health and Fitness and More...

Casa Del Matador | 38 www.davidlv.com | 21

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Life is full of surprises.

The bumps, breaks, sneezes and wheezes can come out of nowhere. When things get you down, get up. Get in. Get out.

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7 VALLEY LOCATIONS NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED.

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VEGASMD

Know

Practicing What They Preach Drs. Yevgeniy & Jeannie Khavkin and the Khavkin Clinic

By Lynn Wexler Photos by Natasha Isom Photography

M

ention the words “power couple” in Las Vegas and notables such as casino moguls Steve and Elaine Wynn are likely to come to mind (though they divorced in 2010); or the sporting duo, Andre Agassi and teffi Graf or former ayor scar Goodman and incum ent ayor arolyn Goodman since . here are more, and they dominate in a ariety of as egas industries. ut no come r. e geniy ha kin and r. eannie ha kin recent additions to the medical power ranks. e is talkati e and al ays on the mo e. he is reser ed and reflecti e. ach is a highly credentialed and accomplished surgical specialist. hey are de oted to each other, their ork, their family and to their alues. hey met in hicago introduced through e geniy s parents, ho kne someone ho kne someone. e geniy, a neurosurgeon, calls it, e ish matchmaking at its finest In they mo ed to as egas. eannie is an specialist and a facial and plastic surgeon. hey com ined their medical practices in at the ha kin linic on o n enter ri e in the as egas su ur of ummerlin. or e geniy and eannie e en their names lend to the power moniker) the ha kin linic is an am ition reali ed after years of medical training, holding prestigious positions at prominent medical institutions and receiving medical a ards and philanthropic recognitions.

I didn t like the eather in hicago, and I asn t pleased ith the academic practice there, e geniy says. And I no longer anted to ork for a ig uni ersity. I anted to create something uild something from the ground up that reflected our o n ision a medical institution ith reno ned physicians and an excellent patient experience.

he ha kin linic offers neuro spine surgery, facial plastic surgery, , cardiology and anesthesiology. And, says e geniy, e re considering the addition of t o other surgical specialties. he practice has eight physicians, including e geniy s rother Al ert, an anesthesiologist. ormerly a cardiac surgeon in ussia, Al ert defected to the nited tates in the late s, as granted political asylum and retrained in anesthesiology. he clinic, says e geniy, functions more like a team of colleagues, partners friends, ho are also top notch medical professionals ho share the same philosophy: providing patients with the best ethical and medical care possi le.

Anything short of est is not an option, says e geniy. And each patient must ha e an ama ing experience, eginning ith his or her first phone call to the center (where they will reach a live person) to the success of the procedure and eyond. r. e geniy ha kin is a director of of pine and eurosurgery erice at pring alley ospital and director of pine and eurosurgery er ice at entennial ills ospital. e is also a former chairman of the epartment of urgery at outhern ills ospital. he ha kins ha e t o sons, and a recently orn daughter. he parents are oth accomplished musicians. e geniy sings and plays the guitar. eannie is a classically trained pianist. ostly they enjoy music as a family pastime. ut they ha e also olunteered their musical talents by participating in Doctors in Concert, a fundraising e ent to enefit the athan Adelson ospice.

As with most power couples, finding a alance et een ork, family and community responsi ilities re uires considera le effort.

As a oman, says eannie, I e had to especially engage in soul searching to etter define my priorities. hen e mo ed here I had my o n practice. I as pregnant ith our first child. I as acclimating to a ne

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www.davidlv.com | 25

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M.E.N.U.S. 2016

Mentoring & Educating Nevada’s Upcoming Students

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 THE BEACH AT MANDALAY BAY RESORT & CASINO Benefitting Epicurean Charitable Foundation Please join us for an exclusive poolside dine-around on the golden sand beach of Mandalay Bay. The evening will be highlighted by an array of premium beverages and freshly-prepared dishes from many of the finest chefs and restaurants in the city.

This year the event will feature an extended dine-around, live entertainment, and extravagant silent auction, and an after party at Foundation Room.

MENUS 2016 IS PRESENTED BY:

www.ecflv.org

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AND SPONSORED BY:

/EpicureanLV

#MENUS2016

7/22/16 12:27 PM

VEGASMD community. And I wanted to devote time for our relationship. It was crazy.” eannie figured out that the perfectionist ithin as good for her profession. eyond that she learned the alue of delegation, time management and a supporti e hus and. And she counts her lessings for the many opportunities she has to improve the lives of others. oth doctors gre up ith and ere influenced y mothers ho ere physicians. is mother as a pediatric surgeon hers a neonatal critical care specialist. e geniy as accepted into medical school in Russia at the implausi le age of , making him akin to the TV character Doogie Howser the teenage physician in A s hit series. hen e geniy s family immigrated to America in , he transferred to the ni ersity of hicago s rit ker chool of edicine. e completed his neurosurgical residency at the ni ersity of hicago and a fellowship in complex and minimally in asi e spine surgery at ohns opkins ni ersity in altimore.

I as the first foreign student to transfer to an American medical school, e geniy ays. or se eral years, he as a director of neurosurgical spine ser ice at orth estern ni ersity, here he gained recognition for performing numerous complex oncological surgeries, and for training neurosurgery residents and fello s. eannie, then , mo ed to hicago ith her family in from elarus. hey joined her rother, ho as already li ing in hicago.

After graduating from orth estern, and ush edical ollege, eannie completed her residency in otolaryngology head and neck surgery at the Illinois ye and ar Infirmary.

I as fortunate to train under leading experts in the field of facial plastic surgery, hich moti ated me to pursue fello ship training in rhinoplasty, facial reju enation and complex facial reconstructi e surgery at the niersity of oronto, she says. he ha kins are in ol ed in numerous charita le endea ors. e geniy orks to impro e medical care in astern urope. In ussia, he performed gratis neurological surgeries at orphanages. e also contri utes to e ish ealthcare International and agle ondor International. eannie is a founding oard mem er of Smiles for Survivors. The local nonprofit pro ides care for reast cancer sur i ors ho ha e suffered oral complications due to chemotherapy.

“I do reconstructions on patients who have been assaulted ... and my hus and and I are part of Helping Hands Surgical Care where we perform free surgeries for uninsured patients, eannie says. hrough his tra els, e geniy often hears people critici ing America. ut America still offers the est of the est in the orld, he says.

And he remains othered y the joke he heard hen they mo ed to as egas When you live in Vegas and need medical care, where do you go? McCarran International Airport. hat s not a joke you ant to hear as a physician in the community, e geniy says. he perception is changing, though. I e gotten to kno a lot of great physicians o er the years, and some of the est I e e er orked ith are right here in to n, he adds. hat s exciting. he ha kins are no looking toward medical tourism. They believe it s an emerging area of the as egas economy, and they are at the forefront. edical tourism makes up a out percent of their practice, and it s gro ing. atients are coming to them from ussia, anada, exico, outh America, hina and Eastern Europe.

“International patients can afford to travel for medical care. hey consider going to the ayo and le eland linics and ohns opkins. ut those facilities, hile onderful, are not in the most attractive parts of the country. They ant to tra el ith the family, and as egas offers great hospitality, entertainment and shopping in addition to excellent medical care that they regard as the est in the orld, e geniy says. he ha kins recently ac uired land in the southwest near the newly opened IKEA where they plan to build their new medical center. he ha kins find it curious to e la eled a po er couple. hey see their ork as simply an outgro th of their alues I think it comes do n to the impact you ha e on people s li es, e geniy says. In that sense, e may e a po er couple, ut e re also a po er practice. e re fortunate to e in a position to greatly and positi ely impact lives on a daily basis.” ne of the ha kins fa orite inspirational uotes is from rench usinessman rancois onstantin, one of the founders of the famous atch company acheron onstantin, ho, in , rote o etter if possi le … and it is always possible.” www.davidlv.com | 27

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RETIREMENT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PUZZLING At Las Ventanas, every piece of your rewarding retirement is already in place. With activities, programs, and events designed to focus on the four key areas of a healthy lifestyle: social, intellectual, physical, and spiritual, Las Ventanas is one of only 12 communities in the U.S. to receive a Successful Aging accreditation by Masterpiece Living.

THE ONLY PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT’S MISSING — IS YOU.

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VEGASMD

Sense

Miracle Baby “I have never seen reported or witnessed myself a baby who survived with this type of malformation” —Dr. Van Reid Bohman, Desert Perinatal

By Lisa Stark

T

hey aren’t Jewish, but Destiny and David Canseco named their son Ezekiel – Hebrew for “God strengthens.” e er has a name een so fitting. o his mom and dad, and others too, Ezekiel is an angel on Earth. It’s the only plausible explanation for hy he s still here, in defiance of medical science. And hen you look at him laughing and smiling, he looks like any other cherubic 11-month-old.

He’s not.

“I have never seen reported or witnessed myself a baby who survived with this type of malformation,” says Dr. Van Reid Bohman of Desert erinatal Associates. In my years I ha e treated six cases like this, all of them were fatal.” rou le started for the ansecos at their six eek ultrasound appointment. octors sa a normalities. hey thought it might e o n syndrome. It wasn’t. It was Pentalogy of Cantrell, a condition in which organs develop outside the fetus’ body. Extremely rare, it is usually fatal.

Ezekiel’s heart, liver and intestines were growing outside his chest cavity.

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VEGASMD

Left: Ultrasound of fetus in utero. Above: Baby Ezekiel at 11 months, smiling and healthy.

“We were devastated,” says Destiny. “We kept thinking, ‘Why us?’”

But Bohman saw a flicker of hope, a possibility that the Cansecos’ baby could survive.

“When I looked at Baby Ezekiel, I saw very distinct deviations from the typical Pentalogy of Cantrell case,” Bohman says. “I thought to myself: ‘this one is different. I think we can do better than throwing in the towel.’”

On a fetal ultrasound, a Pentalogy of Cantrell baby has a heart that stands out like a point. Bohman noticed that Baby Ezekiel’s heart was at a 45-degree-, not a 90-degree angle. And instead of being completely outside the chest cavity, it was two-thirds out.

Bohman believed he had a shot to save the baby. And he asked the family to join him in his crusade.

“Dr. Bohman laid out the options,” Destiny says. “He gave us a choice — to continue or to terminate. I kept feeling that if I keep this baby I am being selfish ecause I ant to meet him. If he made it to deli ery, e had no idea how long he would survive once he was born. Maybe a week, maybe a day, maybe an hour.”

Bohman consulted a pediatric cardiologist and a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon to see if they agreed with his reasoning.

“I said to them, ‘does this make sense to you?’ They all agreed with my thinking,” he says. “We collectively felt like we could save this child.”

The Cansecos weren’t quite sure how to process this newfound

optimism. Their emotions were all over the place – a jumble of joy, fear and confusion.

“We went through all of the stages,” says Destiny. “We bought all of the baby stuff, then sold everything when we thought we would lose him. We even visited a funeral home.”

“We were trying to prepare ourselves,” explains David. “If you Google Pentalogy of Cantrell, the pictures are frightening.”

The Cansecos decided to keep the pregnancy. Destiny battled depression but stayed strong for her husband, her 3-year-old son Vincent and her unborn a y oy. In ohman she had more than a doctor. he had a confidant.

“Dr. Bohman was like family,” she says. “He was always there for me as a true partner and friend.”

“We had a unique connection developed by thinking outside the box,” says Bohman. “In my experience, these pregnancies end with termination.

But together with the family and my pediatric physician colleagues we went out on a limb to try to save this child.”

Destiny was a bundle of nerves. “I had panic attacks. I couldn’t breathe.

I as terrified the hole time, she says.

Bohman was anxious, too.

“Every step of the way we were dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s, making sure we covered everything,” says Bohman. “I was apprehensive, too, realizing that I could be wrong.” www.davidlv.com | 31

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VEGASMD Delivery day came at 37 weeks.

For Destiny, all her fears were erased in a single moment. hen I heard him cry, I just kne he as going to e ďŹ ne, she says, eyes welling with tears. “I walked over to where they were cleaning him up. His organs were exposed ut I looked right into his eyes, says a id. hey ere ide open and he as so alert. he nurses rapped ekiel up and handed him to his parents to cuddle.

Within seconds, 20 doctors swarmed around the newborn, tending to his e ery need. efore deli ery, the medical team as ner ous, too. hey were glad to see he had a little skin covering his heart. It would help in future surgeries.

After spending t o months in the neonatal I , ekiel ent home ith his family. Vincent is very protective of his little brother. e atches out for him, says estiny. e doesn t like anyone touching ekiel. e understands that his rother has an ouchy on his chest.

After a slo start, ekiel is hitting all of his milestones. e s learning to alk, hich his parents ďŹ nd thrilling and terrifying. e ha e to keep an eye on him at all times, says a id. ecause his heart is still unprotected. ekiel has had t o surgeries to stretch the skin to co er his heart. In the future, he ll need more. ost likely he ll ne er play sports. ut he s already beaten the longest of odds.

r. ohman ith the anseco family just days after ekiel ohman al ays elie ed ekiel could eat the odds.

as orn.

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ekiel is hitting all of his milestones. e s sitting, cra ling and learning alk.

“The nurses and doctors treating him said that no baby they have seen has ever had this condition and lived,” Destiny says, unable to hide her pride.

Ezekiel has inspired a similar emotion in Bohman.

I am filled ith pride and joy hen I see this little rascal, he says. e talk and snuggle. Am I thrilled es Am I surprised o I al ays elie ed he could live.”

Ezekiel’s dad has no intention of selling his second son short.

“Our dreams for him are the same as they are for Vincent,” says David. e ant him to get married, ha e a career and e hate er he ants to e.

I do orry a out hat ill happen to him hen he goes to school, says estiny. I on t e there to protect him. I don t ant him to feel different. or ohman, a ies like ekiel remind him of hy he chose this path as his life s ork.

I ha e a do en or so cases in my years here the literature says it can t e done and e ha e sa ed the child, he says. It is hat I li e for and hy I ent into the field of perinatology.

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Sense

Seek & Destroy

Using the Immune System as a Weapon Against Cancer

Dr. Vogelzang with his patient Guy Corrado. Thanks to Immunotherapy Guy’s enjoying life and his kidney cancer is disappearing.

By Lisa Stark

O

n the very day and at the very time I’m to speak with patients and doctors at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, my mother’s in the same building getting a biopsy. That’s cancer today: It touches virtually everyone, chasing us down with relentless pursuit.

And with this already on my mind, my interview with a renowned cancer

researcher begins with these bold and, frankly, downright depressing proclamations.

“We will never cure cancer completely,” says Dr. Nicholas Vogelzang.

“And we will always have chemotherapy.”

But in his next breath, the CCCN medical oncologist is practically giddy in describing our growing understanding of immunotherapy, the newest eapon in fighting cancer.

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esearcher im Allison disco ered the

A

path ay, a

atershed moment in the field of immunotherapy research.

It as definitely a atershed moment hen exas orn researcher im Allison disco ered the checkpoint path ay se en years ago, says ogel ang. hrough this path ay, kno n as A , e no ha e different rakes and gas pedals to use on cancer.

Allison, no professor and chair of immunology at the . . Anderson ancer enter in ouston and recipient of a million research pri e, de eloped an anti ody against A that ecame pilimuma , the first drug e er sho n to increase sur i al rates for patients ith metastatic melanoma. hat e ha e learned since Allison s disco ery, ogel ang says, is that this first path ay orks for only a fe cancers. ut e ha e since identified more path ays that can ork for other cancers. he net is idening, experts say, ut the research ahead ill e daunting. e ha e kno n a out the enefits of immunotherapy for many decades, says r. adi raiteh. o to inter ene on one of the most complex systems in the ody, the immune system, to address a disease of tens of thousands of su types, such as cancer, is not an o ious task, says the director of the ranslational ncology rogram hase I and GI alignancies rogram for . n a asic le el, immunotherapy is finding ays to induce the ody s

o n immune system to fight the cancer. ancer sends out a cloaking de ice that says I am not here. ou can t see me, says ogel ang. he cancer is in isi le to the immune system and can gro , multiply and reak ha oc in the ody. hen you add the immunotherapy anti ody, he says, suddenly cancer s co er is gone. he immune system can see and attack the cancer. he uestion is hether it can kill the cancer.

All of the major pharmaceutical companies are in esting illions of dollars in immunotherapy research, also called iologic therapy.

Immunotherapy doesn t ork for all cancers, including t o of the most common reast and prostate.

In most cases, ogel ang says, chemotherapy ill ha e to e added to the patient s immunotherapy regimen. here are more than cancers and chemo drugs, almost al ays used in com inations, he says. It makes sense to gi e chemo and immunotherapy in tandem.

Immunotherapy is only in the test phase as a first line treatment option.

And, to e clear, it s not a cure. raiteh says it might take a creati e com ination of ne agents, most still in de elopment phase, to get closer to a higher num er of cures. e www.davidlv.com | 35

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ogel ang patient arole unt getting treatment for her unt after

ladder cancer.

as the first patient in the . . to recei e the immunotherapy drug A appro al.

are not there, ut e definitely are at the doorstep of a radically ne era in cancer treatment. r. olfram amlo sk is a medical oncologist at . As he puts it, ure is something that e can only e certain of in retrospect. ertainly, long remissions lasting many years are possi le ith the current generation of immunotherapy drugs. And, he adds, undreds of ne immunotherapy agents are currently in de elopment.

Sharp Cookie arole unt , a year old a y eteran, has attled ladder cancer for fi e years and is a patient of ogel angs. he recei es one of the so called ne agents e ery three eeks. As a patient, shes a pioneer, too. he as the first American to recei e ecentri , after the A appro ed it. ecentri is a classic immunotherapy drug. It oosts the immune system to target cancer cells, different from chemotherapy hich attacks all cells in a shotgun approach. unt is no stranger to chemo, and is glad to put it ehind her.

I feel so much etter, she says, referring to her immunotherapy drug regimen. hen I as on chemo I as emotionally and physically exhausted. I ould stay in ed all day. uring her first appointment ith ogel ang, she learned that the A had just appro ed ecentri . hen I first sa r. ogel ang, I had no hope, she says. I as aiting to die. ut he spent t o hours ith me that first day, and I thought this guy is a sharp cookie. I had confidence in him, so I as illing to try the ne drug. ecentri is more po erful and less toxic than chemo. It s the first ne ladder cancer treatment in years.

It s too soon to kno if it s shrinking unt s tumors, ut she s optimistic. here has een great success ith this trial, she says. ut e en if it only cures one person, it is orth it. unt says the a y taught her resiliency and strength, and she has ig plans for the future. y hus and and I just cele rated our th anni ersary. I ant to make it to , she says. And I ant to take my granddaughter to isney.

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VEGASMD “It makes me proud to be a trailblazer,” she adds. “If people see a little person like me with determination they might be inspired too.”

Hail Mary Guy Corrado was at the end of the road when he met Vogelzang. He had stage IV kidney cancer that had metastasized to his femur, lungs and lymph nodes near his descending aorta.

After chemo stopped working, Vogelzang offered him another option — a “Hail Mary” as the Italian-American puts it.

The new treatment is Opdivo, a drug that signals the body’s immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

“I feel so much stronger than when I was on chemo,” Corrado says. “I can live my life the way I want to again.” or him, that means deep sea fishing in exico and ritish olum ia, plus a boys camping trip to Utah with his son and grandson. He’s substitute teaching, too, along with gardening and writing a book in his spare time.

Most importantly for Corrado, Opdivo is working. His latest scans are showing a disappearance and shrinkage of the tumors in his lungs.

“It’s like a Fourth of July celebration when we get those reports,” a beaming Corrado says.

Corrado’s daughter Lisa is thankful for Vogelzang and what he’s given her family. She cherishes her father’s time with her two young daughters.

“Every birthday, every vacation, every holiday we have together is like a gift,” she says, as tears stream down her face.

Guy, ho s een on pdi o for six months, made a patient testimonial video for the company that developed the drug.

“Dr. Vogelzang was so high on the drug,” Corrado says, “and I have so much faith in him (as a person and a researcher). He’s a saint. Make sure you put that in the article.”

Building the Team For Vogelzang, immunotherapy isn’t new. He used beta interferon, a type of immunotherapy, 35 years ago to treat kidney cancer. And while he believes the new drugs show great promise, he’s realistic.

“Every time you open a door,” he says, “it leads to more questions. What happens when the cancer cells stop responding to the immunotherapy? hat is the next frontier. hat to do hen immunotherapy stops orking Do we try a different immunotherapy?” raiteh also is circumspect a out immunotherapy s limitations.

“The immune system can be way too empowered, in a similar way to a branch of a government hijacking power and establishing a dictatorship without checks and balances,” he says. “The immune system then attacks innocent bystanders (normal tissues) with secondary autoimmune diseases. hese occasions remain exceptionally rare fe er than percent , ut they still exist. ogel ang elie es cancer ill al ays kill people. ut e are making progress, he says. We used to cure one in four cancers. Now, it’s three in fi e. e elie es a cure rate of three in four or etter is attaina le. e ha e a great shortstop, first aseman and solid pitching, he says. ut we don’t have (a) full team yet, and we aren’t pitching shutouts every day.” ut for unt and orrado, just getting another at at is a ictory, thanks to immunotherapy. * ogel ang is a consultant to Genentech, fi er, erck, ristol yers Squibb and AstraZeneca.

Joseph A. Adashek, MD, FACOG Paul T. Wilkes, MD, FACOG Van R. Bohman, MD, FACOG Alan D. Bolnick, MD, FACOG Donald L. Roberts, MD, FACOG Sean M. Keeler, MD, FACOG

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Taste

Tacos With a Twist Casa Del Matador Will Put the “Ole” in Downtown Summerlin

By Jason Harris

I

t’s scorching on this Sunday afternoon. I’ve been summoned to a secret location. One suburban street turns into the next before I arrive at my destination, an upmarket house in Summerlin. This is one of the better Airbnb options in the area, I imagine. I leave my windows cracked, get out of my car and walk through the sweltering heat to knock on the front door.

Two publicists greet me. Behind them stands a cadre of kitchen pros, including at least three chefs and a chief mixologist. The public relations team is local; for the rest of the crew, this Airbnb will be their home

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Left above: Street Tacos sampler, Left below: Arroz Con Pollo, Above: Co-founders Nate Opper and Zak Melang in front of their Fort Collins Casa Del Matador.

for the next few weeks until the highly anticipated opening of the American-Mexican restaurant Casa Del Matador in Downtown Summerlin.

On this particular day, too much construction stands between me and a close-up look at the restaurant space.

In the living room, two large chairs and a comfy sofa envelop a lovely coffee table. On the ta letop sit my first tastes of asa el atador – two types of salsa, and then some chips, guacamole, black bean dip, escabeche and one other item.

Co-founder Zak Melang told me on the phone a couple of days earlier this is not Mexican food South of the Border-style. “We’re far from being authentic,” he acknowledged. “We’ve taken a lot of those Mexican flavors, but we put kind of our own twist on it. And it’s worked for us so far.”

Melang, with his slow deliberation and drawl, is right. None of this

tastes like your favorite taco truck or hole in the wall burrito joint fare. But what the Matador brand presents is tasty. I like a bit more heat on my salsas, but compensation comes in the form of delicious black bean dip swirled with habañero, garlic crema, tomatillo salsa and green onion. And while the escabeche – think Latin-inspired pickled vegetables – isn’t as acidic as those chasing authenticity might desire, I get it.

This is the perfect type of Mexican food for Downtown Summerlin. Let’s call it “gringo Mexican,” in the best sense of the term, of course. These are crowd-pleasing tastes put together by a group of industry veterans. Melang says he and his wife and business partner Nathan Opper have a similar food philosophy: “All being bartenders, we thought we had a good handle on what people wanted. We wanted to create a really warm atmosphere.

We wanted to create some great food with a really good value. We try to make the Matadors (there are restaurants and bars under the Casa and Matador banners in other cities) and everything we do comfortable.”

And comfortable is the key word here. hat s not to say foodies on t find their gems, too. hat last dish on the table is the one that caught my attention. Chipotle mushrooms are worth www.davidlv.com | 39

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Interior showing the kitchen area.

ordering over and over again at just about any restaurant. The mushrooms are sautéed then hard-seared, giving a textural duality. The fungi take on all the flavors they are blasted with – Mexican oregano, guajillo, chipotle and ancho chiles, white wine, butter and cotija cheese. It’s the kind of veggie that makes you forget about meat.

With each taste, I’m starting to understand more about the Matador brand. Founded in 2004, the original Matador opened in eattle s historic allard area. elang figures he looked at more than potential locations efore finding one that as just right. It as a ar first, ith some uality grub second. That means it was 21 and over since day one. eople came for the ariety of te uilas, the alue items at happy hour, the uni ue design and the relaxed i e.

But the concept took off far beyond what the owners had imagined. By 2005, they had opened their second Matador Bar in Seattle. And with each new opening, the owners heard from customers: It’d be great if we could bring our kids.

With nearly a dozen locations now, Melang and his team have separated the Matadors from the Casas. The Matador is a ar first, and asa is a restaurant ith no age restrictions. o asa el atador seems a natural fit for o nto n Summerlin, and just the right time for Melang and his colleagues to invade the Las Vegas market. When I mention that some restaurants in the 22-month-old outdoor mall already have failed, Melang ponders for a moment: “There

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is no formula for great success, he says finally. ou go out there and put your best foot forward, and you do what you think you could do. n the other hand, I ould say that e re extremely confident in hat e do. If gi en the chance y our guests, e think e can in them o er. e do the est jo e possi ly can. ... After trying the restaurant I feel confident that people ill return.

Melang drew on his construction background in building the first atadors from the ground up. hat means ar, ta les, tiling he did it all. is focus as al ays design pper handled the food. erything ser es a purpose in the design of the rooms. he ar s half moon shape ena les groups of people to talk to each other. he tiles and lighting fixtures are from different regions in exico, here elang has een tra eling since age . ight no , he li es in ayulita, a illage minutes north of uerto allarta, ith his ife and t o children. hile his kids enjoy eing mem ers of their immersion school s surf team, ops is consulting custom tile and light fixture makers throughout the country so he can gi e his restaurants and ars a distincti e and true look. hile elang and company had no control o er the exterior at asa el atador in o nto n ummerlin, they did make sure to get e erything else kno n to the rand in the uilding. he fire pit that usually sits in the middle of their esta lishments has een mo ed to the side. Artistic custom ull skulls are getting the attention of lue uddha attoo and ill hang throughout

A selection of asa el

atador

argaritas

Nevada

Silver State Stars

QRIS

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this Matador. “I’m really proud of the way it’s turning out,” Melang says. “It’s not a carbon copy (of the others), but you can tell they are siblings.”

We’re at the dining room table at the Airbnb residence. Tom Small, the general manager of the Las Vegas location, says 128 tequilas will be available opening day at this Casa Del Matador, with more to come over time. On Tequila Tuesdays, he says, patrons can expect half off every brand, including all 17 mezcals and the Class Azul Ultra. On any other night, that last one would be $250 a shot.

All three of the entrees I try are delightful. Braised beef shoulder tacos are as tender (four hours of cooking will do that) as you’d want. The beef is slathered with ancho chile sauce and topped with avocado salsa, pico de gallo and cotija cheese. Its noticeable sweetness comes from being braised in Coke. Grilled carne asada is straight down the middle, and there’s nothing wrong with that when the meat’s cooked to perfection.

Guajillo chile sauce, garlic crema and pico de gallo finish this taco off. If Small has his way, Casa Del Matador will be selling these as “street tacos” during the Downtown Summerlin farmers market, and he and his team will have a huge hit on their hands.

Small says Casa Del Matador regulars love the shredded chicken enchiladas. To me, they’re homey and delicious, and I’d happily scarf a few more down if they were offered.

But then there’s so much more I’ve yet to taste. And so many tequilas to sample, and custom lighting fixtures to see. All this definitely makes Carne Asada Torta

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Think

Essays and In-Depth Articles on Topics that Will Have People Talking all Month Long.

Bright New World | 52 www.davidlv.com | 43

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Think

Finding a New Way Advances in Treatments Have Resulted in Better Outcomes and Quality of Life for Patients

By Jaq Greenspon

M

edical science is amazing. These days we can transplant organs with relative ease. If we can’t get something donated, there’s a possibility that we can “grow” it oursel es or manufacture an artificial replacement, which might work better than the original. Replacing lost or damaged limbs also is becoming an everyday occurrence. So the fictional lore of te e Austin, the ix illion ollar an, keeps getting closer to reality. It seems the only thing we can’t replace is the human brain. That has a limited lifetime arranty. If it reaks, e e got to fix it. hankfully, here in the Vegas Valley, a number of physicians are working on that very pro lem and making remarka le excuse the pun headway.

One way to advance medicine is this area is by looking for alternatives to traditional approaches. “Back in the day, we would go in and operate, then just give regular radiation. What radiation treatment is is a fancy X-ray that kills cancer cells. We’d give it to the patients after surgery to mop up what could e left ehind, says r. usan eisinger, a radiation oncologist. hen you go in and operate on the rain, they can t take extra rain for good luck.

Sometimes the surgeon is able to get all of the cancer, she says, sometimes part of it and sometimes just a small piece. In that instance, the hope is that the excised piece can e used to figure out hat is going on and how to deal with it. The only problem, Reisinger says, is that “after surgery, this darn cancer ants to come ack. o, arious treatments ha e een employed to try and extend oth the patient’s life and quality of life. “It’s not all about curing somebody, either,” she says. “It’s about quality of life. Nobody wants to live longer if they can’t mo e the hole right side of their ody. ifferent forms of chemotherapy and radiation treatments have been tried, and a drug called Temodar has been added to a number of regimes with positive results, she says. “Some of those patients were doing pretty well – some of them out to 18 months with a pretty good quality of life,” Reisinger says. But that wasn’t good enough.

hen cancer gro s, it di ides exponentially into many cells. esearchers ha e found that high intensity electric fields can interfere ith the process by not allowing those damaged cells to divide. This type of treatment has been shown to slow – maybe stop – the division of cells. Some cells may even die, Reisinger says.

A out months ago, ptune came along. It s a de ice for running an electromagnetic current through the rain, targeting the specific cancer area. ertainly, you need the diagnosis first ptune is A appro ed for tage tumors only , ut the outlook is positi e. his approach also means you’re not cutting into the brain again. But Optune patients have to be committed to the treatment, as the process involves wearing strategically placed transducers on the scalp 18 hours a day, seven days a week, for at least six months.

These transducers, whose placement is designed by computer and administered by specially trained nurses (who will also teach the patient’s caregi ers , trail electric ires attached to a attery pack. he electric fields come through the attery pack to the ires to these adhesi e things, Reisinger says. “You can go anywhere with it. You can go out to eat. You can do anything you ant. ut think of just eing attached to something.

It’s not an easy thing.”

Still, the Vegas Valley resident since 1998 calls it one of the more positive developments she’s seen in more than 25 years of practice. “I remember during my residency, patients would come down in stretchers, and there asn t much you could do In my personal experience, I e seen a huge increase in the uality of life, and ho long patients li e ith drugs like Temodar,” she says. “But you’re still back to ‘yes, it will come back.’ It’s not ‘will it come back? It’s ‘when will it come back?’ So if you can put something like Optune on it from the get-go, maybe that’s just another way.” r. ajneesh Agra al certainly takes another ay in getting to his treatment area of expertise. o treat disorders of the lood essels of the brain from inside the arteries and veins, with catheters and needles,” he goes through the patient’s femoral artery in the leg.

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A medical diagram depicting transphenoidal surgery.

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A young male cancer patient wearing the Optune device.

“Cardiologists do the stents into the heart,” the endovascular neurosurgeon explains. “I do stuff like that into the brain: treating strokes, treating brain aneurysms, but all from inside the blood vessels.” To do this, he uses X-rays and dyes to maneuver his catheters through a small incision near the groin, up the spinal column and into the brain. The brilliance of this relatively new approach — it was developed over the last 20 years or so — is that there’s no cutting into the skull. In fact, the initial incision is so small it often requires no sutures. And, in cases where there are no complications, patients can go home within a day or two.

Agrawal’s primary concerns are brain aneurysms (a “ballooning” of an artery) and strokes. “With stroke patients, if a patient throws a blood clot into an artery in the brain and becomes paralyzed or loses speech, and they come early enough to the hospital, we’re able to go inside and suck that blood vessel out and open the artery.” But how do you get there? “We know the anatomy. I know the route. … It’s like knowing how you get home.

I kno my traffic spots. I kno here to go. I m using rays to see here I’m going.”

What he’s looking at are specialized 3D X-ray machines designed specifically for the jo at hand. e e got extreme clarity as to ho the catheters are going so we can really see these catheters go through very small areas. e ll inject some contrast dye to see ho the flo is, and I can guide my way around.”

In practical terms this means if a patient presents with symptoms of a stroke ithin six hours, his chances of significant reco ery are the est they’ve ever been. In most cases, Agrawal and his team can “open up the

majority of the clots ithin minutes e kno that million rain cells die every minute, so we try to do this fast.”

As recently as 10 years ago, when someone had a stroke the best outcome was to put her through a rehabilitation program and hope for the best. “There was really no treatment for it,” Agrawal says. “Now, for a lot of patients, we can give a better outcome, even make them completely symptom-free. From paralysis to symptom-free, which was not possible (in the past).”

In the dark ages of the s, aneurysms ere treated purely y surgery.

The surgeon had to cut through the brain, a much more invasive and dangerous approach. Now, most aneurysms that Agrawal and his team treat are done by “coiling.”

Using X-rays to guide the tiny catheters, Agrawal maneuvers to the aneurysm and fills the eakened space inside ith soft, spaghetti like metal coils. These secure and strengthen the walls of the blood vessel and close up the hole. hen Agra al came to as egas years ago, this technology as new. “I was the second person in Nevada to bring this technology,” he says proudly. “At that time, the equipment was very old and we kind of started from scratch here. Now, I have three hospitals (Spring Valley Hospital, Valley Hospital and University Medical Center) with state of the art equipment, all the products that I want.” He handles 150-200 cases a year.

A out fi e years ago, he adds, there as a meeting and they ere saying the field is pro a ly going to gro percent per year for the next years. It s still a ne field, ith a tremendous possi ility of gro th.

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VEGASMD

Surgeons operating through a patient’s femoral artery in the leg.

That “growth” includes educating more people about symptoms, so those patients can get treated sooner, with ever-higher success rates.

It also means treating diseases not being handled this way, including brain tumors. “Can we go in – inside the brain tumors – and selectively inject chemotherapy?” Agrawal asks rhetorically. “Right now, if you have a malignant brain tumor, (the) survival rate is about six months. Options are surgery and radiation (and Optune). Now, can we go in from inside the blood vessels and do gene therapy, selective chemotherapy?”

And there’s another way.

For Dr. Ashley Sikand it involves transphenoidal surgery. He and his associates, including Dr. G. Logan Douds, go after brain tumors the newfashioned way – through the nose. “Many decades ago, they used to do this type of surgery with an ‘open’ approach,” Sikand explains. “They used to have to open the skull and lift up the brain to get to the tumor and remove it that way. This approach is done through the nostril without making any incision on the outside.”

Primarily, Douds and Sikand are treating meningiomas and pituitary tumors, the two most common types of tumors located in the skull base, the area “between the nose, the sinuses, the portions of the ear and mastoid, and the face – between those structures and the brain.”

The pituitary gland, the body’s master gland, controls all the hormones and hormone production. It rests in the skull base. “It’s an important part of the brain,” Sikand says. “It sends chemical signals to the thyroid gland to control its functioning and to the adrenal gland to control steroid functioning.”

A malfunctioning pituitary can cause hormonal problems and lead to vision

issues and headaches, if a tumor is pushing up on the optic nerve.

Using “image guided surgery,” the surgeon basically overlays an MRI “roadmap” onto a monitor. Then, using telescopes and microscopes, he opens that sinus up y finding its natural openings and joining them, making them larger.” This gives direct access to the entire “Turkish Saddle,” or sella area, where the pituitary gland and the tumor reside, allowing for removal of the latter. Any instrument the doctor inserts into the nose or sinus shows up on the screen and moves in real time. “This allows for more complete tumor removal,” Sikand says, and a “lower risk of injury to surrounding structures that you want to preserve. At the conclusion of the removal of the tumor, the patient doesn’t require any stitches on the outside or anything like that. You let it heal and it makes the recovery easier.” As with Agrawal’s patients (and barring unlikely complications) that recovery can be accomplished at home, requiring only a day or two in the hospital.

Sikand, another Vegas Valley resident since the late ’90s, also has seen a ig change in the ay things are done. hen I first started doing it, e didn t have the image guidance; we weren’t employing some of the endoscopic procedures we’re using now. Some of the reconstructive techniques have een modified y the de elopment of iomaterials that didn t exist years ago. I e seen an e olution, e en in the last years. ut, then, he’s also helping lead the pack, doing his own research and publishing a peer-reviewed paper annually for the last six to seven years.

And like his colleagues, he s excited to find ays to push medicine s boundaries, always with the aim of achieving higher recovery rates amid less invasive surgeries. www.davidlv.com | 47

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Think

Cheers to Your Brain Dr Sarah Banks of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and Thirteen Las Vegas Sommeliers Raise a Glass or Three to Study the Human Brain

By Marisa Finetti

Marshall Bradford Photography

W

e only ha e the standard ďŹ e senses. And ithin the area of taste alone, e can only taste ďŹ e things. o, doesn t it make sense to smell hat e eat and drink to enhance our o erall experience aking this idea one giant step further, the part of the rain most important in smell and smell memory continues to de elop late into adulthood. And this should matter to us ecause it s also the region most affected in early rain diseases, such as arkinson s and Al heimer s. an e de elop this part of our rain to impro e our health A recent study on sommeliers suggests some promise. he results of a le eland linic study ased here in as egas sho ed that the speciďŹ c part of the rain s a ility to continue to gro may help medical researchers and neuropsychologists, including r. arah anks, understand the rain and help protect it from diseases. anks and her neurosurgeon hus and ere li ing in ontreal and ha ing dinner out. heir sommelier as suggesting ine pairings. he had al ays een fascinated y sommeliers and their kno ledge and presuma ly heightened senses.

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Master sommelier Lindsey Geddes, consultant at Charlie Palmer Steak Las Vegas www.davidlv.com | 49

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r. arah anks

Banks, who has a background in olfaction of the brain, says medical professionals look at smell and its relation to degenerative diseases, ecause that sense is one of the first to go.

“We thought, ‘how interesting it would be to understand their sommeliers rains etter, says anks. ne of the reasons hy olfaction is interesting in neurology is because it is the region in the brain that is really important for smell and smell memory, and also the region that is most early affected in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and often implicated in epilepsy, as ell.

Hoping to improve that region of the brain as people age, Banks thought that a study on sommeliers – presumably super-functioning in that region might offer some illumination.

The 2013 study conducted at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in ol ed sommeliers. he partnered ith master sommeliers ay ames and Ira armon, ho helped her find the sommelier su jects and to determine the aroma testing component. o find a erage consumers, she recruited participants through UNLV with the help of psychology professor oel nyder.

If there as any here in the orld that e could do this study, it as here, says anks. e are lucky ith the com ination of the rain enter, the funding, and the num er of sommeliers in as egas.

Banks’ study compared sommeliers’ (composed mostly of master sommeliers olfactory and isual sensory judgments to that of e eryday

non sommeliers to gain insights into ho a rain orks. he area of study was the entorhinal cortex, the area of the brain that takes information from the olfactory ul to the memory center of the rain, or the hippocampus. anks descri es it as a thum nail si ed lo just ehind the top of the nose. he isual and olfactory cortex in the rain connects to the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus, which are important to memory and are significant to rain disease research.

Tests were conducted using white wines – Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer – and “white wine-like” non-wines, created by using arious su stances such as fruit juices and spirits. ne of the sommeliers ho participated as arley ar ery, director of ine for andalay ay and elano. e laid do n in the I machine ith a mask on hile they lasted aromas at us as they ere scanning our rain s , he says. e used a clicker to answer yes or no questions, such as plant or nonplant, fruit or nonfruit, ine or non ine. indsey Geddes, master sommelier, also as part of the study. e had to take a written test of wine knowledge, patterns and scratch and sniff smells, hich as fun and in oked my childhood memories. u jects in a isual test looked at pictures that either ere pixilated fingerprints or e ra prints. In oth cases they had to think a out hat they ere processing.

“You’d expect that part of the brain [entorhinal cortex] gets thinner and

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VEGASMD smaller as people age, says anks. ut hat the researchers found as that the area as larger in most sommeliers compared to non sommeliers. urthermore, it as also the iggest in sommeliers that had een orking the longest. o me, the most exciting finding as that sommeliers seem to ha e a structural difference in the region, anks says. he region appears to e larger, and largest ith the oldest sommeliers. he reason hy that is interesting to us is ecause e used to think that hen you get to a certain age, your rain starts dying off. e are no learning that ith this study and others that there is plasticity in the rain, and it can continue to gro and de elop ell into adulthood. he says the findings re ealed that training of the rain could commence during adulthood, ith the hope of changing specific regions that are most ulnera le to diseases of aging. ommeliers are a prime example of learning at the onset of adulthood. ertainly, this presents enough reason to find a passion, and to learn and use the sense of smell. his is hat these sommeliers ha e een doing for years. melling ine is ho to taste ine properly, says Geddes, one of the study participants. he aromas of ine are ethereal, layered, deep. hey really do not ecome more recogni a le until the ine is on the palate. ore aromas ill jump out hen you smell and taste the ine together. ommeliers like ar ery also claim to ha e a photographic memory hen it comes to smelling ine. ould this reflect the fact that areas of the rain are more acti e in sommeliers during smell and sight related tasks he results of our functional study suggest that this may ell e the case that they ha e enhanced isual responses to smells . hen the sommeliers ere smelling the ines, they also had much more acti ation in the isual regions of their rains than regular people, anks says. hen I smell a ine, I see la els, and I kno that indsey has said she sees her notes, says ar ery. hus, sommeliers exercise those parts of their rains more, suggesting that rains do ha e a plasticity element to them and can impro e. hile smelling a ine can transport a person to that intage s place of origin in the orld, exercising doesn t just in ol e s irling the glass and sniffing. he study of ine encompasses many areas, including history, geography, language, culture and tra el, to name a fe .

It s an acti e process dri en y passion. ar ery says learning a out ine is a life long endea or. It could e experiencing hat a ne intage tastes like from a specific producer or region. It could e a random piece of tri ia, such as the num er of acres planted under ine, or a out a ne product.

Geddes elie es her sensiti ity to smell is a gift that many omen ha e. ut like any natural talent, it ill only take you so far efore you ha e to start practicing it to e etter like arry otter going to og arts to get etter at his magic o hat does this mean for the rest of us non sommeliers hile anks says the research can t deli er a prescription ased on the study, she elie es that lifelong learning is one of the keys to rain health. e already kno that learning protects the rain against diseases, she says. ontinuing to stimulate the rain and our senses and eing mindful, appreciati e and passionate all these things on t hurt. ut, hopefully, they ill help keep us healthy. hether it s learning a out ine, or e en perfume of course, in moderation

Swirl, Then Smell ommeliers ill e the first to tell you that, despite hat they already kno , studying a out ine is a ne er ending journey. melling it is part of the learning, and it s certainly a ay to enhance the enjoyment. ut sommeliers also smell ine to detect any fla s efore ser ing it. elo are a fe suggestions on ho to enjoy and learn a out the aromatics of ine.

Compare an Aromatic with a Non-Aromatic Wine All ines ha e arying le els of aroma intensity. It is est to do comparisons. ike putting a high aromatic ine next to a lo aromatic ine, so you ha e a frame of reference. I ould choose Ge r traminer from Alsace rance, the most highly aromatic grape in the orld. he aromas from Ge r traminer are lychee, rose, potpourri, grapefruit pith, candied ginger. ut a moderate aroma intensity next to it like a sau ignon lanc from the oire alley, rance. he aromas of ancerre are grapefruit, grass, goose erry, tarragon and passion fruit. ou really understand hat high intensity of aromas mean hen smelling a Ge r traminer next to any other hite ine in the orld.

— Lindsey Geddes, consultant at Charlie Palmer Steak Las Vegas and master sommelier

Wine Smelling Kit And Tasting Notes e e du in teaches you through smelling the scents and ill let you explore it ith ines as ell. It ill tell you hich scents to look for in a ine. Another method is looking at ine re ie s. I ould sit do n and look at the descriptions, then drink the ine until I could detect all of the characteristics in a particular ine.

— Ira Harmon, JP Fine Wine, master sommelier

Varietal Spotlight: Torrontes he est arietal I could recommend ould e orrontes from Argentina. It is a cross of riolla hica and uscat de Alexandria and extremely complex in the aroma. Almost e eryone could smell some recogni a le aroma from tropical fruits, stone fruits, orchard fruits, flo ers, her s and minerals. en if they don t ha e the ords to descri e them, the aroma ould help stimulate memory, as many of the common aromas of orrontes ha e een smelled y most Americans. ere are some specific aromas synthetic grape like grape olly ancher tropical fruit pineapple, gua a, papaya , ripe citrus orange, eyer lemon , ripe stone fruit peach , melon orange lossoms, roses, jasmine, geraniums, hand lotion soapy, potpourri, slight musk spice.

— Will Costello, director of Wine, Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, master sommelier

Varietal Spotlight: Sauvignon Blanc It s approacha le, it s easy and most people can differentiate from other hite ines, especially if it s e ealand sau ignon lanc. hey are pungent, they are po erful, they re readily a aila le. ook for citrus fruits, like lemon lime grapefruit and goose erry, fresh cut green grass, oiled asparagus, tie it all together and you e got sau ignon lanc – Harley Carbery, director of Wine, Mandalay Bay and Delano, advanced sommelier

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Bright New World Legally Blind Patients of Dr. Jack Abrams are Given the Gift of Sight Thanks to a Mini Telescope

By Lisa Stark

“I

used to see black, but now I see light” is how Shems Yakkar describes the world around her. Her once-darkened view is now alive with color, shape and detail.

Thanks to a revolutionary new technology to treat the most severe form of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, legally blind people like Yakkar can see again. It sounds like a miracle promise, but improved vision is a reality for the spritely 76-year-old.

“I can see your face and your eyes,” she says. Before, I would only see black where your head is. But now I can clearly see the pattern of your blouse and an outline of you.”

This is how Yakkar, sitting in her kitchen in Las Vegas, explains what I look like. Three months ago, Dr. Jack Abrams surgically inserted an IMT – Implantable Miniature Telescope – into her right eye after AMD robbed her of her central vision. hen I first heard a out this reakthrough I thought, o , this is magnificent says A rams, part of an elite group of surgeons orld ide to have access to the IMT. “Patients with this stage of advanced AMD had no hope. I as frustrated I didn t ha e anything su stanti e to offer them.

In the past e tried handheld magnifiers and glasses, ut e ne er had anything custom made to the eye like the telescope.” he first of its kind telescope implant is integral to entra ight , a new way of treating patients with End-stage AMD, the leading cause of legal blindness in older Americans. The FDA-approved implant is the only surgical option that improves visual acuity by reducing the impact of the central vision blind spot End-stage AMD causes. www.davidlv.com | 53

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VEGASMD Smaller than a pea, the IMT is a miniaturized Galilean telescope inserted in place of the eye’s natural lens. The device uses micro-optical technology to magnify images that normally would be seen in one’s “straight ahead,” or central, vision. The roughly three-times larger images are projected onto the part of the retina not affected by the disease. That makes it possible for patients to see or discern the central vision object of interest. It takes patients about six months to assimilate their new vision. The vision improves gradually over time.

“This is the most innovative procedure to help people who are legally blind, people who are forgotten,” says Abrams. “This gives them a second chance to see loved ones’ faces and do the everyday things we take for granted, such as pouring a cup of coffee, opening the mail or watching TV.” or akkar the impro ement has een incremental ut significant.

Before surgery her vision was 20/200. Now it’s 20/100, which means three lines of vision improvement on the eye chart.

“I have to train myself to look with both eyes,” she says. “I use my right eye, the telescope eye, for central vision and my left eye for periphery.”

It takes a certain tenacity to learn how to assimilate the telescope and retrain the brain. The Germany-born Yakkar went through a diligent screening process to determine if she could enefit from the telescope implant. Spend a few minutes with her, and you’ll see why she was picked.

Strong, independent and feisty, she raised three kids while enjoying a professional career outside the home. As manager of export licensing for a software company, she worked with the National Security Agency and traveled the world, prowling museums wherever she went. “I love history and I love to learn,” Yakkar says.

The many books that line her shelves hint at the life she once had.

“I used to read six or seven books a week,” she says. “I loved knitting and crocheting. It reached a point where I just couldn’t do any of it anymore.”

AMD is an insidious disease. It starts slowly but eventually robs a person’s central vision, leaving an ever-growing black spot where the primary focus was. The peripheral vision is not affected.

Up to 11 million people Americans have some form of AMD, a number that’s expected to nearly double by 2050.

For Yakkar, the problem began three years ago. Even as she lost her vision, she held on to her sense of humor.

“I was walking around my neighborhood early in the morning,” she recalls. “I must have been weaving because a car stopped and a young man said, ‘I can’t believe you are drunk at 8 am!’ I waved at him and said, ‘But at least I am having fun!’”

Deep down she was enormously frustrated. “I had been so active. And then I couldn’t do anything anymore.”

Bionic Eye

Top: Smaller than a pea, the IMT is surgically inserted in place of the eye’s natural lens.

Bottom: People who suffer from Macular Degeneration slowly lose their center vision.

Right: Dr. Abrams is part of a select group of surgeons worldwide who have successfully implanted the IMT.

At her lowest point, Yakkar found Abrams, a fellowship-trained cornea specialist involved with the CentraSight treatment program in Las Vegas.

VisionCare Inc., a privately held company with research facilities in Petah Tikva, Israel, developed the IMT and its corresponding CentraSight program.

Although the device is Medicare-eligible and FDA-approved, only 600 IMT surgeries have been done globally. Abrams is one of 200 surgeons worldwide to perform the IMT insertion. He was chosen for his experience, skill and collaborative approach.

“This is an advanced procedure,” says Reena Mishra, a Vision Care executive, “so you need a surgeon with a high level of technical expertise,

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and (who is) open to a collaborative approach with other eye care specialists. Dr. Abrams is extremely committed to his patients, and we are appreciative of his willingness to be part of a life-changing event.”

For Abrams it was a no-brainer. “I looked at this as an opportunity to help,” he says, and a natural step for someone whose practice has been based on acquiring the most cutting-edge technology available. He brought laser technology for cataract surgery to Nevada in 2012, and is the most experienced surgeon for laser-assisted cataract surgery and lens implantation.

IMT “is a very challenging surgery,” he says, “because we have to insert the telescope, hich is fi e times larger than an a erage lens. hen you have to center it properly. And that is where the laser comes in.”

The laser creates a perfect circular opening in the eye, a delicate organ in a miniature setting. The slightest movement makes a difference. For that reason, the laser is the most effective tool.

Yakkar wasn’t nervous the day of her surgery. “I had nothing to lose,” she says with a smile, “and everything to gain.”

Back From The Black Sitting across from Yakkar, the telescope is clearly visible, a gold fleck where the black pupil is in the other eye.

Three months post-surgery, “I am reading fantasy novels on my Nook again,” she says. “I can also watch my favorite PBS programs.”

She still needs her son to help balance her checkbook and read her mail. And she’s learning how to merge her vision so her two eyes work in tandem. At times, she sees two images.

These are challenges still to be overcome and Yakkar is laser-focused on reaching her goal.

“I am very optimistic and willing to work hard,” she says. here is good reason for her optimism. A fi e year study on the long

term impact of the IMT shows substantial retention of gains in visual acuity over time. According to the analysis, younger (65 to under 75) and older patients plus sho ed clinically significant isual acuity gains at t o years and fi e years after telescope implant.

Yakkar hopes her story will reach other people with AMD. She learned about the surgery from a cousin in Germany.

“The IMT should be publicized and promoted in the United States,” she says. “It can change lives.”

Abrams cautions that the IMT is not a panacea, nor “a cure for the disease. It is just another aid in helping these patients see better.” What’s more, only a small percentage of those with AMD are suitable for the IMT surgery. The treatment program focuses on comprehensive patient care, requiring prospective patients to undergo medical, visual and functional evaluations to determine their suitability as candidates.

“Since this is such a new technology, the patient inclusion criteria are very selective,” Abrams says. “We are working on expanding the pool to include more people in the future.”

These breakthroughs inspire Abrams and his fascination with ophthalmology, where something new is always on the horizon. e are constantly seeking and finding ays to offer more options to more patients,” he says. “Every day we are discovering new technology and improving existing technology to improve the vision of people suffering from many different conditions.”

For Yakkar, the end goal is in sight, so to speak.

“I want to be able to see clearly,” she says. “Then I would like to get back into crafting, do more reading and go to a movie. I believe these are attainable.”

She’d also like to get some of her identity and her old life back, along with a measure of freedom that would come with it.

“I want to be able to function on my own again,” she says, “to be the person that I used to be.” www.davidlv.com | 55

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Dr. Dale Carrison Nevada’s Emergency Medicine Visionary

Chairman of Emergency Medicine, UMC. Professor/Chairman of Emergency Medicine, University of Nevada School of Medicine (UNSOM) Medical Director of Health and Safety, LVMPD Medical Director, LVMPD SWAT Doctors Medical Director, Clark County Fire Department Medical Director, Las Vegas Motor Speedway Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board, Health District

By Janna Karel Dr. Dale Carrison is UMC’s chairman of Emergency Medicine. He’s also a mental health advocate, a resolute optimist and an all-around fascinating person. As a mischievous kid (he flunked out of Florida State University), he never imagined that, at 76, his professorship at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and his appointment as state homeland security chief would be the least of his credentials. He spent his childhood on a farm in Macomb, Ill., but also followed his parents to Georgia, California and Florida. As a teen, he spent more time partying than studying.

After high school, Carrison found the structure and purpose he needed in the U.S. Navy. Although his school grades were lacking, he managed to pass the entrance exam to the U.S. Naval Academy prep school, and later the exam to enter the academy itself. A wrestling injury cut his dreams of becoming a Navy pilot short, and he dropped out of school. He joined his parents in California and became a deputy sheriff. His eight years of cracking cases and taking down bad guys caught the FBI’s attention and they recruited him. e uit after fi e years, though, happy with the work but tired of the bureaucracy. He went to work at his estranged father’s auto parts store, hoping to strengthen their relationship. But after the challenging work he’d enjoyed, he found his ne jo unfulfilling. At , he sought counseling at UCLA and determined he wanted to be a physician, an idea he regarded as absurd. But his counselor encouraged him and the rest is …

DAVID: Your resume is quite extensive. Which of your many accomplishments are you most proud?

CARRISON: y first goal hen I got here as to improve emergency care at UMC. And we did that. here s no finer emergency care any here in the U.S. The other thing I wanted most was to have an emergency medical residency there. I wanted to train residents. And we accomplished that, too.

We’re recognized as one of the best emergency residences. Our kids are in the top 10-15 percent of all in the U.S. That’s probably the thing that gives me the greatest satisfaction is that the residency is there and it works and it’ll be there after I’m gone.

strange thing. Some people are old at 50; some people are not old at 70. I think as long as I can keep thinking on my feet, keep making decisions, keep learning ... If I knew I was going to die at 80, no matter what, I’d keep going 100 percent.

Because I don’t want to sit in the corner and rot.

DAVID: You’ve worked alongside the governor and attorney general and UNLV to improve mental health care in Southern Nevada. Why is this such an important issue for you?

CARRISON: My mother is bipolar and that’s how I learned about mental illness. My sister also was bipolar, and three years ago she committed suicide.

So mental health is really close to my heart. As a society, we need to say, ‘OK, mental illness is no different from pneumonia or strep throat,’ and we need to have the resources to treat it.

DAVID: You mentioned that you suffered the stereotypical ‘midlife crisis.’ Can you tell me about it?

CARRISON: Yeah. I had been working at one of my dad’s auto parts stores at the time. Anyway, I had a bad scuba diving accident, and it was like someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘You’re not so important after all.’ It was a wakeup call. I realized I hated what I was doing. I hated the retail business, because the only purpose is to make more money. And I didn’t want to make more money: I wanted to make a difference. And that was my midlife crisis and I started over and went back to school.

DAVID: Do you have advice for someone who might be suffering from a ‘midlife crisis?’

CARRISON: Whatever you think you want to do, find someone ho is in that area, ho has een successful, and call them and say, ‘Can I meet with you and talk to you?’ Because there’s nothing worse in this life than to be in a job that you hate.

DAVID: It seems that there is this idea in our society that you choose what you want to do when you’re young and you don’t deviate from that.

DAVID: At 76, you’re still working everyday. What

CARRISON: Oh, you can change so many times.

would have to change for you to want to stop?

Life is so much longer than people think it is. Each day is so much longer than people think it is.

People say, ‘How do you do this?’ Well, you have these hours. Use them.

CARRISON: I don’t think I would. ... unless I went goofy. Medicine is a strange thing and life is a

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