Surgery

Clinic General Surgery Plastic Surgery

Oncology Surgery

UNLV Health doctors are here to help, providing respectful, compassionate, and highly advanced surgical oncology care.

Services and Treatments

Surgical Oncology

  • Breast surgery
  • Breast biopsy
  • Endocrine & Thyroid tumors
  • Gastrointestinal tumors
  • Liver ablation
  • Melanomas 
  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Pancreas, liver, bile duct tumors & disorders
  • Robotic surgery
  • Sarcoma

Pediatric Surgery

1707 Front of building

UNLV Health provides advanced diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care for children with surgical needs. When needed our pediatric surgical specialists can provide robotic microsurgery solutions for children ranging from premature infants with congenital birth defects to adolescent trauma victims. Always working to provide surgical solutions that are minimally invasive so kids can get back to being, kids.

Doctor General Surgery

Annabel E. Barber, MD, FACS
General Surgery, Oncology, and Gastrointestinal Disorders

Annabel Barber Photo

Dr. Annabel Barber, a professor of surgery at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, is a board-certified surgeon who performs surgeries for patients with breast, colorectal, thyroid and head and neck cancers. She also sees patients with the following gastrointestinal disorders: acid reflux, heartburn, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Doctor General Surgery

Ovunc Bardakcioglu, MD
Colon and Rectal Surgery

Photo: Ovunc Bardakcioglu, MD

Dr. Ovunc Bardakcioglu, an associate professor of surgery at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, serves as chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

Dr. Bardakcioglu was educated in Germany and chose to specialize in general surgery during his residency at Beth Israel Medical Center.

He completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles.

Doctor General Surgery Oncology Surgery

Jennifer Baynosa, MD
General Surgery, Breast Oncology

Photo: Jennifer Baynosa, M.D., FACS

Dr. Jennifer Baynosa is an associate professor of breast oncology surgery at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. 

A graduate of the USC Keck School of Medicine, she completed her general surgery residence at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine. After residency, she completed a breast surgery fellowship at Stanford University. 

Currently the program director for the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV General Surgery Residency, her main research interest is breast cancer and how it metastasizes.

Doctor General Surgery

Jocelyn Burke, MD
General Surgery

Dr Burke

Jocelyn Burke, MD, an assistant professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Surgery, specializes in robotic foregut surgery, with particular interest in hiatal hernia repair, anti-reflux surgery and surgery for gastrointestinal motility disorders, including achalasia and gastroparesis.

Doctor Pediatric Surgery

Shirong (Sara) Chang, MD
Pediatric Surgery

Photo: Shirong (Sara) Chang, M.D.

Dr. Chang, an assistant professor of pediatric surgery at Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, is a board-certified general and pediatric surgeon.

Her areas of special interest include surgical disease of the newborn gastrointestinal tract, anorectal malformations, pediatric surgical oncology, minimally invasive surgery, and surgery for inflammatory bowel disease.

Doctor General Surgery

Jared Griffard, MD
General & Trauma Surgery

Jared Griffard, MD, an assistant professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Surgery, graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine.

He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center – Knoxville, and completed a fellowship in acute care surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, becoming board-certified in both general surgery and surgical critical care.

(702) 671-5150 Clinic
Doctor Plastic Surgery

Casey Giles, PA-C
Plastic, Reconstructive, & Aesthetic Surgery

Casey Giles

Casey Giles is one of the advanced practice providers in the UNLV Health Plastic Surgery Clinic. She is a Las Vegas native and alumni of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She attended the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio for physician assistant training. Casey graduated top of her class and was inducted into the Pi Alpha and Alpha Eta honor societies.

Doctor General Surgery

Daniel M. Kirgan, MD
General Surgery, Surgical Oncology

Photo: Daniel M. Kirgan, MD

Dr. Daniel Kirgan, a professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Surgery, is currently vice chair of the department, and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology. 

A graduate of the George Washington University School of Medicine, he completed his general surgical residency at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine. Following completion of his residency, Dr. Kirgan did a two-year surgical oncology fellowship at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in California. 

(702) 671-5150 Clinic
Doctor General Surgery

Stephanie Lynne Martinez, MD
General & Trauma Surgery

Stephanie Martinez, MD, an assistant professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Surgery, received her medical doctorate and completed her general surgery residency at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Dr. Martinez did her fellowship training in burn surgery, surgical critical care, and trauma surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her areas of interest include acute management of coagulopathy and resuscitation in burn-trauma patients, as well as burn reconstruction.

Doctor General Surgery

Allison G. McNickle, MD
General Surgery, Trauma and Surgical Critical Care

Allison McNickle, MD, FACS, is an assistant professor at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Surgery and the section chief of trauma surgery.

Also the program director of the medical school’s acute care surgery fellowship, vice chief of trauma and chair of the Critical Care Committee at University Medical Center, Dr. McNickle is board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care.

Doctor Plastic Surgery

John M. Menezes, MD
Plastic Surgery, Cleft Lip & Palate Repair

Photo: John Menezes, M.D.

Dr. John Menezes, an associate professor with the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, is the only fellowship-trained Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine craniofacial surgeon in Las Vegas.

Among his areas of expertise are cleft lip and palate repair, craniosynostosis, ear reconstruction, microsurgery, and adult and pediatric facial trauma.

(702) 671-2278 Office
(702) 671-5110 Clinic
Doctor Plastic Surgery

Meenakshi Rajan, MD
Plastic Surgery

Meenakshi Rajan

Meenakshi Rajan, MD, who has extensive training in the treatment of breast cancer patients, particularly in complex microvascular breast reconstruction, is an assistant professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Rajan earned her medical degree at Rush University Medical College, completing her general surgery residency training at Cleveland Clinic Florida and plastic surgery residency training at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio.

Doctor General Surgery

Syed F. Saquib, MD
Burn Surgery, General Surgery, Trauma and Surgical Critical Care

Photo: Syed F. Saquib., MD

Dr. Syed F. Saquib, an assistant professor of trauma and critical care at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, works at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, primarily in trauma, burns and critical care.

Heavily involved in UMC’s Lions Burns Care Center, he works closely with fellows, residents, and students in providing the best patient care possible.

(702) 671-2201 Office
(702) 671-5150 Clinic
Doctor General Surgery

Charles St Hill, MD, MSc, FACS
Surgical Oncology, Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, General Surgery

Photo: Charles St. Hill, M.D., MSc, FACS

Dr. Charles St. Hill, an assistant professor with the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Surgery, has pursued research in cancer surgery/clinical trials program development.

A graduate of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, he offers clinical trials for patients who fit the criteria for certain studies. “We’ve done several sponsored clinical trials that have helped patients who don’t have the resources, which help to advance the research while offering more options for patients.”

(702) 671-2278 Office
(702) 671-5150 Clinic
Doctor General Surgery

Lorena Suarez-Kelly, MD
General Surgery, Oncology

Lorena Patricia Suarez-Kelly, MD, who specializes in the management of complex cancer patients, is an assistant professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Surgery.

Her research focuses on the use of immune modulators to treat cancer and enhance the actions of antitumor therapies

(702) 671-5150 Clinic
Doctor General Surgery

Joseph Thornton, MD
General Surgery, Colon and Rectal Surgery

Photo: Dr. Joseph Thornton, MD

Dr. Joseph Thornton, an associate professor with the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, has been a practicing colon and rectal surgeon in Las Vegas for more than 25 years.

A graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville who later did a colon rectal surgery fellowship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Dr. Thornton is board certified in colon and rectal surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.

(702) 671-2201 Office
(702) 671-5150 Clinic
Doctor General Surgery

Brian Ward, MD PhD

Dr. Brian C. Ward, an assistant professor of surgery at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, is a general surgeon who treats patients with a wide variety of conditions, including hernias and diseases of the breast, stomach, colon, rectal, small bowel and gallbladder.

He also handles cases involving skin and soft tissue masses and disease.

Earning his MD from Indiana University, Dr. Ward completed his residency at UNLV in general surgery. He also holds a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Purdue University.

Article BY PAUL HARASIM

Patient’s Experience with UNLV Health ‘Couldn’t Have Gone Better’

Dr Baynosa

Throughout treatment for breast cancer, Cornelia ‘Connie’ Jackson found Jennifer Baynosa, MD, and the UNLV Health General Surgery Clinic staff to be ’so caring and so professional.’

Between 2009 and 2022, Cornelia “Connie” Jackson had three abnormal mammograms. The nagging worry that accompanied the first two – both turned out to be false alarms – was practically nonexistent by the time she was told last year she needed another follow-up exam.

Article

Leading the Largest Military-Civilian Partnership in the Country

Jeremy Kilburn

Air Force Lt. Col. Jeremy Kilburn, a doctor specializing in pulmonary and critical care medicine, is an associate professor of medicine at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV as well as the school’s director of the Office of Military Medicine. Here, he provides insight into a unique military-civilian partnership that he says is the most complex in the United States.  

Article

School of Medicine Resident Physicians Sharpen Surgery Skills

Surgery Resident Photo

Working with cadavers provides medical students with valuable experience.

Inside the Oquendo Center, a large medical event space near McCarran International Airport, eight human cadavers lay on individual operating tables, each one surrounded by an array of surgical equipment.

Article

Former UNLV Medicine Fellow Joins Faculty

Joseph Carroll Photo

Dr. Joseph Carroll says the opportunity to be part of the medical
school’s team at the UMC Trauma Center was too good to pass up.

It was when he was in the seventh grade that Dr. Joseph Carroll, now an assistant professor in the UNLV School of Medicine’s department of surgery, first thought about becoming a physician.

Article

Internationally Known Trauma Surgeon Begins Work as School of Medicine Dean

John Fildes Photo

Dr. John Fildes continues the vision for establishing UNLV’s academic medical center.

In August, just days after being named interim dean of the UNLV School of Medicine, Dr. John Fildes was before a gathering of the world’s best surgeons, delivering a keynote address on handling mass casualty situations. It’s a topic with which he is all too familiar.

Article

Surgeon Encourages Minority Students to Pursue Medical Careers

The story that ran in the Las Vegas Review-Journal last May was compelling. Mary Kay Duda’s life was saved by UNLV Medicine’s Dr. Charles St. Hill.

St. Hill, one of only three fellowship-trained surgical oncologists in Nevada, performed a complex 10-hour surgery known as a Whipple procedure to remove a large tumor that enveloped her pancreas.

“I’ve been given the gift of life,” a grateful Duda would later tell St. Hill and reporter Jessie Bekker.

Inspirational Goals

Article Richard Baynosa, MD, FACS Plastic Surgery

UNLV Plastic Surgeon Reattaches Roper’s Thumb

Photo: Ben Mays with Dr. Richard Baynosa

Ben Mays held his nearly severed thumb, dangling by a ligament, in his right palm as he rode his 17-year-old quarter horse Bubby out of the South Point Arena and across the parking lot to an ambulance.

He swung the doors open, held out his dangling digit to show the stunned paramedic inside, and handed his horse over to another roper. Then he climbed in and held a bag of ice on his thumb — still shoved inside the white glove he had been wearing — as first responders sped him to University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

Article Plastic Surgery John M. Menezes, MD

Cleft and Craniofacial Surgery

Dr Menezes Photo

If your child has a cleft lip and/or palate or other craniofacial disorder a good place to start is with the UNLV Medicine Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery team.

Each child is an individual, however, and you should be sure to discuss your child’s unique situation during your first appointment with Dr. Menezes and the UNLV Medicine multi-disciplinary management team.

Article

Dr. Deborah Kuhls Reflects on Mass Shooting

Dr. Deborah Kuhls

They sought a carefree weekend out on the town.

Some were from Vegas, many drove in from Southern California, and others journeyed on a plane to escape the worries of their everyday lives.

That’s what set the evening apart from so many others that Dr. Deborah Kuhls has spent in UMC’s trauma center. 

Article

Dr. Jennifer Baynosa, Surgical Oncologist

Dr. Jennifer Baynosa

From her extended family what Dr. Jennifer Baynosa often heard as a child was that one day she would find a nice man, fall in love, get married, and have a family.

Taking care of her children and her husband, preparing their meals and washing their clothes, was the future that would be hers.

Article

Dr. Joseph Thornton on Overcoming Obstacles

Dr. Joseph Thornton, colorectal surgeon

Dr. Joseph Thornton’s road to becoming a physician makes you realize yet again that where there’s a will, there’s a way.

He grew up in a single parent household on the south side of Chicago, the son of an African American bartender who wanted the best for her son. His two aunts, both maids, also lived in the home.

“Combining incomes made the housing affordable,” says the 72-year-old colorectal surgeon who now is an associate professor in the UNLV School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. “For good times they loved to go to the racetrack and watch the horses run.”

Article

Leaving Them Smiling

For children with rare conditions, UNLV Medicine surgeon restores the ability to show happiness. It’s a procedure that leaves both the patient and the surgeon with smiles on their faces. Surgery to correct the effects of Moebius syndrome – a rare congenital condition that can paralyze a person’s entire face and affect muscles that control back and forth eye movement – can make it impossible for a person to show that sign of happiness that most people take for granted.

Article

UNLV Physician’s Skills Include Craniofacial Surgery

Photo: John Menezes, MD

Moebius syndrome — a rare congenital condition that can paralyze the entire face and affect muscles that control back-and-forth eye movement.

To unlock Moebius paralysis — it affects something we take for granted, the ability to smile — is something that Dr. John Menezes, an associate professor of plastic surgery with the UNLV School of Medicine, has been trained to do.

Article General Surgery KSNV-TV

Groundbreaking Robotic Surgery

Dr. Bardakcioglu (L) two of his patients, and KSNV-TV news crew

UNLV Medicine Dr. Ovunc Bardakcioglu, successfully performed a breakthrough surgical procedure using a new robotic device that required no incision through the skin, significantly shortened recovery time, and lessened the chances of infection.   

Article Pediatric Surgery

Pediatric Surgeon Dr. Michael Scheidler

Dr. Michael Scheidler

The story of how Dr. Michael G. Scheidler, the son of a mailman and the youngest of eight children, became one of the nation’s top pediatric surgeons is one of perseverance. 

Though the chief of pediatric surgery at the UNLV School of Medicine couldn’t see himself becoming anything other than a physician, that vision wasn’t always shared by educators.

Read the full story here.

Article

UNLV Surgical Oncologist Performs 10-Hour Whipple Procedure

Dr. Randy St. Hill with patient Mary Duda and family

As doctors wheeled 75-year-old Mary Kay Duda into surgery for a pancreatic tumor, she turned to her daughter, Katie, and said, “See you on the flip side.”

Katie Duda, 36, rolled her eyes at the memory, humorous now that her mother is nearing two years cancer-free. At the time, though, the thought of losing her mother was unbearably real.

Mary Kay Duda says she’s one of the lucky unlucky ones. Unlucky in that the tumor growing inside her enveloped the head of her pancreas. Unlucky in that one Las Vegas surgeon declined to operate because the tumor was so large.