Stakeholders and friends of the Las Vegas Medical District recently gathered at City Hall for a free Town Hall. Hosted by city of Las Vegas, Valley Hospital Medical Center and the Clark County Medical Society, in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI) and UMC, the informational event featured cutting-edge technology and innovation used by medical facilities within the Las Vegas Medical District to save lives and treat patients.

Four key presentations focused on mammography and digital imaging, clinical trials, advanced heart care, and robotic surgery.

Dr. Aaron Ritter, Cleveland Clinic Nevada, shared a sobering map showing Nevada as one of the country’s top three states where the prevalence of Alzheimer’s is predicted to increase dramatically. The newest hope for treating the disease lies in drugs and treatments that remove proteins in the brain before they accumulate. Fortunately, the Cleveland Clinic Nevada’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is one of the most active clinical trial centers in the country with more than 70 studies completed and dozens more in the works.

Dr. Aanshu A. Shah, Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI), discussed the new Pristina 3D mammogram that is now available at all of SDMI’s eight Southern Nevada locations. The machine has been lauded for delivering the most accurate results while using the lowest dose of radiation possible and offering the most comfort to patients. Considered a breakthrough in breast cancer detection, Tomosynthesis, or 3D mammography, reduces the number of call-backs and false positives while improving the detection of actual cancers by a significant margin.

Dr. Chowdhury Ahsan, who oversees advanced cardiac care at UMC and is program director of the cardiology fellowship program at UNLV School of Medicine, shared the compelling story of 49-year-old patient Daniel Tena who came to UMC with chest pain. Thanks to the cardiac catheterization laboratory at UMC, Tena received the critical care, including cardiac resynchronization therapy, he needed to recover.

And finally, Dr. Leslie Browder, a board certified colorectal and general surgeon who works out of Valley Hospital Medical Center, showed off the impressive abilities of the DaVinci Robotic Surgical System. Considered even more advanced than laparoscopic surgery, robotic surgery is minimally invasive and highly effective thanks to robotic instruments that can easily reach places and parts unknown in the body – with minimal to little impact to surrounding tissue and organs. Dr. Browder talked about her own personal health journey as a hysterectomy patient. Because her surgery was performed robotically, she was back to work in just over a week!

At the Town Hall, guests got the chance to get up close and personal with some of the actual equipment, including a virtual reality GE Senographe Pristina mammography system, along with a da Vinci® Xi™ Robotic Surgical System.

To view a video of the Town Hall, click here.

Photo: LVMD Town Hall with Dr. Leslie Browder speaking, provided by Valley Hospital Medical Center