Page 7 - Jupiter Ocean Mile - April '24

Jupiter Ocean Mile, Page 7
Ballet Palm Beach Raises Over $290,000

During Venetian Masquerade At The Breakers

Masques, music, merriment and more highlighted the Ballet before introducing Honorary Chair Anka Palitz, who arrived via Auctioneer Jay Zeager
Palm Beach Venetian Masquerade Gala on Feb. 12 at The processional with Ballet Palm Beach dancers escorting. followed, leading the
Breakers Palm Beach. The premier event raised over $290,000 Throughout the multicourse, sumptuous dinner, Ballet bidding on a host of
for Palm Beach County’s professional ballet company. Palm Beach Founding Artistic and Executive Director fabulous outings, art and
More than 200 masked revelers mingled with harlequin- Colleen Smith spoke about the organization’s mission to one-of-a-kind experiences.
bedecked company dancers during the cocktail hour at the preserve the art of classical ballet and to serve as an incubator Then, former Balanchine
Mediterranean Courtyard before adjoining to dinner in the circle for future talent with its academy. She then introduced former dancer and professional
ballroom. Once seated, Gala Cochairs Brandie Herbst and Erin students and current company dancers who took to the floor photographer Steven Caras
McGould welcomed the guests and thanked the event sponsors in a breathtaking pas-de-deux. spoke about the impact
Ballet Palm Beach has on
not only the community,
but on the future of
ballet, and how vital
funding is for the dancers,
community outreach and Todd and Brandie Herbst
the productions.
“Coming here tonight provides support for Ballet Palm
Beach now, but organizations like this need to know they
have funding in place to plan for the next season and the
next,” said Caras. “This is why I urge you now to make
a difference for the future. I will start with my pledge of
$10,000 for next year and invite you all to join in doing
the same.”
Keith Spina and Don Woodward and Michelle Following additional thanks and support from Anka
Kiselewski Middleton Paola and Arnie Rosenshein Jean and Martin Shafiroff Palitz, Colleen Smith thanked everyone for attending.
Guests were then led to the dance floor by the Ballet Palm
Beach dancers, to continue the revels accompanied by the
The Switzer Sound.
The evening event sponsors included: Bank of America,
Stefanie and John Daddono, Florida Power and Light,
Legends Radio, Erin and Sean McGould, Anka Palitz,
Evelyn Treacy, Ellis J. and Nancy Parker, Evercore Wealth
Management, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, The Royal,
Jessrey and Lee Alderton, James R. Borynack, John
Krob Castle, Anne Marie and Stephen Haymes, Brandie
and Todd Herbst, Joy and Mike Miltenberger, Georgia
Mouzakis, Jean and Martin Shafiroff, Rhett Sheslow,
Spina O’Rourke, Sterling Wealth Management and Tux
Shop Palm Beach.
Carlyle Spina, Keith Spina with Heidi and Don Kiselewski William Eubanks, Evelyn Treacy and Ben Stein Photos by Capehart Photography and Annie Watt

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SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTH CARE

Fewer patients face traditional open-heart surgery as

minimally invasive procedures continue to evolve.

By Valerie Staggs

When Dr. John Gibbon performed the first conditions is heart valve disease, which, as For Sabbah, these new structural heart
successful open-heart bypass procedure in the name suggests, relates to a defect in a treatments allow him to provide patients
1953, the medical world gained its first heart valve. “The heart has four chambers with the life altering results they are desper-
glimpse at the possibilities for treating this and four heart valves. Their function is to ately seeking. “One of the most rewarding
vital organ with innovative medical inter- open and close in harmony so that blood aspects of my specialty is offering pa-
vention. Today cardiac surgeons perform flows through the heart in the proper di- tients who aren’t feeling well the option
over 900,000 procedures annually and by rection,” explains Sabbah. A “leaky” valve of a minimally invasive procedure. In
2029, cardiac surgeries are projected to can cause blood to back up into the lungs most cases, they are feeling better in as
reach 1.3 million each year. The increase and elsewhere, at times causing significant little as a week. There is nothing better
is attributed not to open-heart procedures, symptoms of shortness of breath, dizziness, than that.”
but to more minimally invasive options and even sometimes chest pain.
now available to physicians.
New procedures such as TAVR (transcath-
While Gibbon paved the way for the use eter aortic valve replacement) enable car-
of open-heart procedures to treat serious diologists like Sabbah to fix valve defects
heart conditions, the introduction of new through minimally invasive methods. The
cardiovascular technologies in recent years TAVR procedure involves a small IV, typi-
has enabled patients to avoid the need for conditions that affect the structure of the cally in the groin area, to allow access to an
open-heart surgery in many cases. Today heart, specifically the heart’s valves, walls, artery. A catheter is then inserted into the
cardiologists are able to diagnose and treat chambers or muscles. These conditions artery and guided through that blood vessel
many heart conditions early before they can be congenital, meaning they have been to the heart where the clogged up valve is
lead to future complications. with the patient since birth, or they can be located. The new tissue aortic valve is then
caused by other adverse conditions in the deployed inside of the defective aortic valve.
“The landscape of cardiac care has body such as high blood pressure, an infec- The average TAVR procedure takes about
changed significantly over the past de- tion or autoimmune diseases such as lupus one hour, and most patients return home
cade,” says Dr. Michael Sabbah, an inter- or rheumatic fever. Simple aging can also the next day. Patients report a significantly
ventional and structural cardiologist at Ju- lead to structural heart defects. About 2.5% improved quality of life after the procedure.
piter Medical Center. “We are now able to of all Americans suffer from structural heart
treat defects and disorders of the heart be- disease. TAVR is just one of the treatment meth-
fore they lead to more serious conditions.” ods cardiologists now have available to treat
Thanks to recent developments in the treat- structural heart disease. Similar treatments Michael Sabbah, MD
The defects and disorders Sabbah refers ment of structural heart disease, cardiol- available include MitraClip and Am-
TM
TM
to are collectively known as “structural ogists like Dr. Sabbah now have a host of platzer Septal Occluder . Both involve To learn more, visit
heart disease,” a sub-specialty of cardiol- different options for treating their patients. putting a device in place to fix a structural
ogy. Structural heart disease is defined as One of the most common structural heart abnormality. jupitermed.com/cardiology.
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