ACV Centers Expands Award-Winning Vascular Care, Opens Las Vegas Office
Office is First Outpatient Endovascular Center in the Area Focused on CLI
Spurred by strong patient demand, ACV Centers has opened an office in Las Vegas, the first and only outpatient endovascular center in the region – and its first office outside Michigan.
Led by Dr. Rick Bernstein and Dr. George Pliagas, the new office is a state-of-the-art outpatient endovascular center that will be staffed by a team of 16 vascular professionals brought together because of their dedication to compassionate patient care. Like ACV’s Michigan locations, the team in the Las Vegas office will provide comprehensive vascular, arterial and vein care. This is the fourth office for ACV Centers, which first opened its doors in Grand Rapids more than two years ago and now sees 10% of its patients from beyond Michigan borders.
ACV Centers Las Vegas will have a special concentration on treating peripheral artery disease, or PAD, and the complications of critical limb ischemia, or CLI. These two conditions often lead to unnecessary amputations, which ACV Centers works globally to prevent. The two physicians will practice at 4275 South Burnham Ave., Suite 102, which will provide comprehensive arterial and venous care. ACV Las Vegas will begin accepting patients in July.
“Our Michigan locations receive a high number of patients from across the country who need specialized treatments only ACV Centers offers,” Bernstein said. “With our new Las Vegas office, we are able to give patients living outside the Midwest another convenient way to receive highly personalized care that addresses serious health conditions, prevents amputations and gives them their lives back.”
Dr. Bernstein specializes in cardio-thoracic and vascular surgery. After meeting the founders of ACV, he decided to concentrate on preventing amputations and saving people’s legs. Dr. Pliagas is a vascular surgeon specializing in endovascular and hybrid techniques, venous insufficiency and venous ulcers. A believer in combining vascular surgery with endovascular skills, Pliagas has spent his career adopting new treatment strategies into his daily practice to salvage limbs.
Both Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Pliagas are strong proponents of the innovative techniques for the treatment of CLI that are at the epicenter of the ACV’s model of care.
ACV Centers Las Vegas was opened by Dr. Jihad Mustapha and Dr. Fadi Saab, leading West Michigan interventional cardiologists and founders of ACV. The uncle-nephew team, widely known as “The Leg Savers,” began accepting patients at ACV Grand Rapids in February 2018 with a strong focus on ending limb amputations.
ACV physicians partner with primary care providers, podiatrists and wound care professionals to ensure patients are provided with appropriate multi-disciplinary care. Using leading-edge technology and tools, ACV physicians regularly remove blockages from arteries, returning blood flow and improving circulation.
PAD is a common circulation problem that occurs when arteries that carry blood throughout the body become narrowed or blocked, restricting blood flow to feet, legs and other areas. Those who smoke, have diabetes or chronic kidney disease or suffer from high blood pressure or high cholesterol are susceptible to PAD and its complications. Left untreated, PAD can lead to tissue loss, gangrene, amputations and eventually death.
“We are gratified that our patient-centered focus to care draws patients from across the country,” Mustapha said. “Opening a location in Nevada allows us to more easily serve patients on the West Coast and in the mountain states, enabling them to receive this life-saving care closer to home. We are one step closer to saving more limbs – and lives – throughout the country.”
Dr. Mustapha and Dr. Saab plan to use ACV Centers as a national model for amputation prevention, opening more centers throughout the United States. The complex and intricate treatment of PAD and CLI remains a relatively small practice throughout the country, which leads to more amputations than necessary. ACV Centers works both throughout the country and globally through The Amputation Prevention Symposium, which was established by Mustapha, to address the unmet need for education and technologies for treating CLI. AMP annually holds conferences in Chicago and Europe that draw thousands of physicians from around the world.
