I’m giving you these 2 weeks, it’s my present, “Go and Find Your Smile,” Billy Crystal’s movie wife says during his mid-life crisis in the film City Slickers. We get so caught up in the business of daily living, that many times we lose sight of our purpose. According to Curly, the Cowboy Trail Boss, “The secret to life is 1 thing, you stick to that and nothing else means anything”, “What’s the 1 thing?” Mitch asks. “That’s for you to figure out” Curly replies, and that’s for all of us to figure out. Last month, I travelled to Phuket, Thailand and my happy place, AKA Thailand- a Muay Thai camp where I have found something special within me that keeps me going and gives me inspiration. Being in a foreign, yet familiar land, with motivated people looking to improve their health, attitude, perspective and palate makes AKA synonymous with dedication, and self-improvement. This month, I will be giving a talk on Happiness in your office and your life for a multispecialty meeting, and my goal is to motivate others to find the 1 thing.
I spent a half day with a Mahout in Chiang Mai, dedicated to the care of 1 elephant. The Mahout is basically a family member and these two are bound for life as elephants can live up to a hundred years; I felt blessed to be able to share time with the 2 of them at an Elephant sanctuary- going for a walk, feeding her banana trees, sugar cane, making a vitamin ball and cleaning her in a river bath. Elephants eat 300kg of food a day, doing so in powerful fashion with strong jaws crushing meals in boisterous fashion; my elephant chose to wait until she was with me in the bathing area before unloading both bladder and bowel in what can only be described as a cataclysmic event soiling the once pristine river water a murky yellow brown haze – I cursed the beast in that moment, asking her why she couldn’t have gone before getting into the clean water? But, like so much in life, nothing is perfect, and we deal with the cards we have, not the cards we wish we had. In that humor filled and disgusting moment, I fully realized the ridiculousness of yelling at a supremely larger animal in the jungle with a lot thicker skin. I asked myself if I could undertake the role of a Mahout, but having gone to school for 11 years after college, I am dedicated to Dermatology- it’s what I love what I do and I’m not ready to give up on my passion. Speaking of which, did you make any New Year’s Resolutions, and did any of them include having better looking skin? My 2025 skincare wish list includes laser hair removal, PRP for hair growth, Microneedling with Exosomes and Kybella treatments for unwanted neck/chin waddle fat.
Since 2007, Las Vegas Dermatology® has been serving the Las Vegas Community. We are having multiple big events this year, a Day of Beauty introducing our New Providers (Xin Wang, PA-C; Helen Pirtz, FNP-C; and Maria Zarate, LAE), a Skin Cancer Screening with the Sun Bus for Skin Cancer Awareness month at Aviators Stadium- tickets can be purchased here- $5 of which goes to the Las Vegas Dermatology Foundation, a tax deductible 501c3 taking donations and using funds to educate those interested in Dermatology careers, offering treatments for those with skin disease and sponsoring lectures and community events- checks can be sent to the office or donate via Paypal. We will also be sponsoring a Grand Rounds with all the Dermatologists in Las Vegas featuring interesting patient cases and medical discussions.
A new treatment modality indicated for the treatment of Eczema, Psoriasis and Vitiligo has joined the Las Vegas Dermatology® office- the XTRAC laser, a 308nm laser that may be covered by your insurance company. If your skin condition cannot be controlled with traditional topical, oral or injectable therapy, call to see if our XTRAC laser is right for you. You can still laser away unwanted hair, get PRP injections to grow hair, have a Hydrafacial to treat and clean scalp and skin, obtain a SkinPen® microneedling treatment for anti-aging, use the Sciton BBL to remove redness and brown spots, obtain a Moxi or CO2 Laser for more advanced wrinkle reduction or meet our aesthetician team for products and services to improve your quality of life.
Make the most of it in 2025, it’s time to prepare. I will be lecturing in South Carolina, Lisbon and San Diego this year, while attending meetings in Orlando and Reno.
The year has just begun, find your smile,
Dr. Vegas
