323-438-0483

 13274 Fiji Way Suites 310 & 350, Marina Del Rey CA 90292

Providing Individualized Vascular Care Using the Latest Solutions

Vascular Associates of Southern California (VASC) began over 30 years ago as a single physician practice and has grown to a multi provider practice with four locations under UrgentPoint Medical Group. VASC provides exceptional medical care in an office-based laboratory setting. Our team of healthcare providers deliver compassionate, patient-focused vascular care using the latest in technology and medicine

Our Providers

Joe Chauvapun, M.D, F.A.C.S., Board Certified Vascular Surgeon & General Surgery

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Joe Chauvapun, M.D completed fellowship training in Vascular Surgery at the University of South Florida after completing his residency in General Surgery at State University of New York at Buffalo. He earned his undergraduate degree from University of California at Berkley and medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine

Dr. Chauvapun became the owner of Vascular Associates of Southern California in Victorville in 2016 and grew it to it’s 4 current locations. Throughout this journey, he has worked to incorporate several key missions: to meet the patient where they are, every time and to always incorporate wellness with the practice of medicine. With a passion for what he does, Dr. Chauvapun will continue to hold the highest standards of patient care as he continues his career in healthcare.

Phong Dargon, M.D.,
RPVI,
Vascular Surgeon

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Phong Dargon, M.D. completed fellowship training in Vascular Surgery at Loma Linda University after completing his residency in General Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Wheaton College in Illinois and medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

As a medical student, Dr. Dargon fell in love with Vascular Surgery. “Vascular biology just made sense and really interested me,” says Dr. Dargon, “It is a field of medicine that I enjoy studying, treating, and educating patients.”

In his practice, Dr. Dargon will treat diseases of the arteries using balloon angioplasty, stents, and/or traditional bypass, diseases of the veins using percutaneous ablation, carotid surgery to prevent strokes, as well as creation and maintenance of dialysis access for dialysis patients.

Dr Ceazon Edwards MD,
Vascular Surgeon

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Dr. Ceazon Edwards, M.D. completed her fellowship training in Vascular Surgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) after completing her residency in General Surgery at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. She became board certified in General Surgery by the American Board of Surgery shortly thereafter. Dr. Edwards earned her undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Japanese language from Indiana University and her medical degree also from Indiana University School of Medicine.   

She has had a passion for medicine from a young age and has always enjoyed meeting new people, treating and educating patients. In particular to the field of Vascular Surgery, Dr. Edwards has an interest in PAD, aortic disease, venous insufficiency and cerebrovascular (carotid) disease. She enjoys being a part of new advancements and technologies within the field, particularly  in the treatment and prevention of cerebrovascular disease. With this, Dr. Edwards looks forward to bringing the minimally invasive TCAR procedure to the community to help in the treatment and prevention of stroke.

Nicole Ray,
FNP-C

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LaTasha Warren,
FNP-C

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Latasha Warren is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner originating from Lafayette, Louisiana. She obtained her bachelor’s in nursing at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA in 2012. After 6 years of travel nursing, Latasha graduated from The University of South Alabama (USA) completing her Master's in 2019. She is currently attending USA for her Doctorate in Nursing Practice, in which she will complete December of 2021.

Latasha has been with UrgentPoint for over a year, where most of her time was spent working with patients in addiction recovery with the LivingWell team. In the summer of 2021, Latasha joined the Vascular Associates of Southern California team. She works closely with the other Nurse Practitioners and surgeons to provide quality care to all of her patients primarily in the Los Angeles and Palmdale clinics.

Bernice Tan,
FNP-C

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Bernice Tan is an Advanced Practice Provider for Urgent Point at Vascular Associates of Southern California. She is board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner and currently specializing in vascular medicine.
Bernice completed her nurse practitioner training at Western University of Health Sciences and graduated with honors. She obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Loma Linda University and an MBA with a concentration in healthcare management from La Sierra University. Bernice is currently pursuing her doctorate at University of California, Los Angeles. She is passionate about helping patients with their medical needs, and maintains clinical interest in wound and vascular medicine.

Pamela Gambrell,
FNP--C

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Pamela V Gambrell is a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner.  She graduated from Victor Valley College with her RN degree in 2008.  She continued her studies at Chamberlain School of Nursing, while working as an RN for Vascular Associates of Southern California, Inc. in our outpatient OBL.  She has also practiced at Desert Valley Hospital, and Providence St Mary Medical Center.  

She graduated, with honors from the Masters program in 2018 and has continued to work for Vascular Associates  of Southern California Inc. as a Nurse Practitioner.  She works in collaboration with physicians in the clinic, and hospital setting to provide care in the evaluation and management of vascular disease.  Sclerotherapy, endovenous procedures, and dialysis catheters are a few of the procedures she performs in the office. 

Julia Mauro, LVN/RVT, General Manager

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Vascular

Procedures

Varicose Vein Varithena

Varicose Vein Varithena

Radiofrequency (RF) Ablations

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure used to treat varicose veins. An RFA utilizes high-frequency radio waves directed through a thin tube to create intense heat within the varicose vein. It works by closing up the varicose vein, thereby preventing the flow of blood through it. With this pathway closed, blood will be forced to redirect its course, thus flowing through other healthy vessels. Redirecting the blood flow into healthy veins will also allow the blood to return to the heart. This will result in the elimination of the bulging, swelling, and discomfort of the varicose veins and the provision of an optimal passageway for blood flowing back to the patient’s heart. Performance of this operation is carried out on an outpatient basis, with minimal recovery times and discomfort following.

Varithena

Treatment with Varithena is a nonsurgical procedure. The provider will fill the problem area of your vein with a small amount of Varithena using a small tube called a catheter or with an injection. Varithena is a foam that flows into the area and causes the problem vein to collapse.

Sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy is a procedure used to treat blood vessel malformations and also malformations of the lymphatic system. A medicine is injected into the vessels, which makes them shrink. 

Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive procedure. Your physician will inject a sclerosing solution into the affected veins. This technique is suited to the treatment of reticular, spider, or varicose vein conditions. It works by blocking up the affected veins, thereby improving the visible symptoms of the condition gradually. To achieve this result, treatment will take place over the course of multiple therapy sessions spanning several months before completion, depending on the extent or severity of the patient’s condition.

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Treatment

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Treatment

The treatment for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has two main goals. One is to manage the symptoms, including leg pain, allowing you to resume your normal physical activities. The second one is to stop the progression of atherosclerosis in the body, which reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack.

The good news is that through early intervention, you can additionally achieve these goals through lifestyle changes. Quitting smoking is one of the most significant things you can do to stop the progression of PAD. Our Living Well team offers smoking cessation services to assist patients with this step. Walking and exercising regularly following supervised exercise training can improve your symptoms. However, if your peripheral artery disease is at an advanced stage, you will need additional medical treatment. Your doctor may prescribe medicine to prevent blood clots, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and control pain and other symptoms.

In some cases, angioplasty or surgery may be necessary to treat peripheral artery disease that's causing claudication:

  • Angioplasty is a procedure where a catheter is threaded through a blood vessel to the affected artery. There, a small balloon on the tip of the catheter is inflated to flatten the plaque into the artery wall and reopen the artery while stretching the artery open to increase blood flow.

Your doctor may also insert a mesh tube (stent) in the artery to help keep it open. This is the same procedure doctors use to open heart arteries.

  • Bypass surgery is where your doctor will create a path around the blocked artery using either a blood vessel from another part of your body or a synthetic vessel. This technique allows blood to bypass the blocked or narrowed artery.

 

  • Thrombolytic therapy will be needed if you have a blood clot blocking an artery. Your doctor may inject a clot-dissolving drug into your artery at the point of the clot to break it up.

Lower Extremity Arteries

Dialysis Access Procedures

Dialysis Access Procedures

If your kidneys fail, unless and until you have a successful kidney transplant, you will need dialysis therapy to clean and filter your blood. The first step is establishing dialysis access one of several ways

  • Endovascular Creation of an Arteriovenous Fistula (EndoAVF)
    • One of the latest developments in this field of medicine is the introduction of the EndoAVF, which stands for the Endovascular Creation of an Arteriovenous Fistula. It provides an alternative to open surgery
  • Surgical AV Graft Creation
    • This procedure involves sewing a prosthetic graft between an artery and vein in your arm or leg. The preferred option if your veins are too small for an AV fistula. AV grafts tend to close more quickly and are more prone to infection because they are not formed from natural tissue.
  • Surgical Arterio-Venous Fistula Creation
    • Fistula creation starts with Vein Mapping, where you undergo physical examination along with non-invasive or minimally invasive tests. These tests determine whether your arteries are sufficiently healthy to support a fistula. Ultrasound and an angiogram can also be used to gauge the size and depth of your veins and arteries. If you pass the tests and are judged to be a candidate for fistula, then an appointment is made for fistula creation.

The actual process starts with a specialist administering local anesthesia on the identified access site. This site may be in the wrist, forearm or upper arm depending on quality of the vein. A doctor then makes an incision that provides access to the blood vessels, and he makes a surgical connection between a vein and an artery. As a result of the connection, blood flows from the artery to the vein, and with this increase in blood flow, the vein enlarges, and its walls thicken.

After its creation, the AV fistula is given weeks to months in some cases to mature to the point where it can be used safely for hemodialysis.

  • HD Catheters
    • As a temporary option for hemodialysis, HD catheters serve as temporary access points. They provide direct access to the bloodstream, however, they have a high infection rate. This is why their use as a temporal solution. The idea is for the patient to eventually have long-term safer access like AV fistula or a peritoneal catheter. The catheters have heparin to help prevent blood clotting while flowing in the tubes though they have to be changed for new ones as a further precaution. HD catheters only serve when one is yet to have permanent access or where the permanent access is being rested or has stopped working.
  • PD Catheter Placement
    • This is a more permanent option and it is a minimally invasive procedure that can be conducted in an outpatient setting. In this procedure, a PD catheter is placed in the peritoneal space through the abdomen. Your doctor will use an image-guided technique known as fluoroscopy to achieve the Percutaneous catheter placement. It usually takes less than an hour to complete, and you only need sedation and local anesthesia.
Dialysis Access Maintenance Procedures

Dialysis Access Maintenance Procedures

Your access point needs consistent care to prevent any infection and blockage. Both you and your physicians have roles to play here. Some of the services we provide as care for the access points are:

  • Fistulagrams
    • A fistulagram is essentially a specialized x-ray procedure. It uses an x-ray dye to examine the AV fistula’s blood flow and detect any blockage or narrowing. When a narrowing (stenosis) is detected, the physician will insert a balloon and inflate it inside the path. This action breaks up any scar tissue causing the narrowing allowing for better flow for the dialysis.
  • Angioplasty
    • If abnormal narrowing (stenosis) is seen during the fistulogram, further dialysis access management is needed. An AV graft or fistula may be treated with angioplasty, a minimally invasive procedure used to widen a narrowed portion of the fistula or graft to restore the blood flow to the desired rate.

Using imaging guidance, a catheter with an inflatable balloon mounted to it is inserted through the skin into the fistula or graft and advanced to the location of the narrowing or blockage. After correct placement has been determined, the balloon is inflated and deflated, expanding the vessel wall to increase blood flow through the access; once adequate blood flow through the vessel has been restored, the balloon catheter is deflated and removed.

  • Stent Placement
    • Stent placement, another minimally invasive dialysis access management procedure, is sometimes performed in conjunction with angioplasty. A stent is a small, wire mesh tube that expands to hold the affected segment of the blood vessel open if angioplasty alone isn’t successful, and then remains in place after the procedure, allowing for improved blood flow.
  • Thrombectomy
    • A declot procedure is a common dialysis access management procedure performed when a fistula or graft is partially or entirely clotted. Various techniques may be used to remove the clot from the access area in order to re-establish adequate blood flow.
      • Thrombectomy. A catheter and/or a mechanical device is used to break up and remove the clot.
Angiography

Angioplasty

Also called percutaneous transluminal Angioplasty (PTA). Angioplasty is a medical procedure performed using a catheter. A catheter is usually a thin, flexible tube inserted through an artery and guided by imaging to the narrowed section of the artery. Once the tip of the catheter reaches the narrowed section, the small balloon at the end inflates for a short period. The pressure created by the inflated balloon usually presses the plaque against the artery wall. This procedure will help to widen the arteries, restoring normal blood flow.

Atherectomy. A lower extremity atherectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure involving a catheter to remove plaque from arteries. The doctor usually makes a small incision in the artery to insert the catheter. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia to prevent pain. A catheter collects removed plaque in a chamber placed at its tip, ensuring that all the particles are removed from the artery. Depending on the amount of plaque in your arteries, your doctor will repeat the procedure several times to ensure optimal blood flow.

Contact Us to Find Out More

Locations

and hospital affiliations where VASC providers perform services

Contact Us

Phone: 760-951-0065  Fax: 760-951-5382

Address: 15030 Seventh St, Victorville, CA 92395

Email: vascscheduling@urgentpoint.com

Insurance Accepted

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Advantage Care
Aetna
All United Health
Alpha Care
Anthem Blue Cross
Blue Shield of CA
CareMore
Medicare (straight)
Choice MG/ Horizon Valley MG
Choice One
Cigna
Community Family Care IPA
Dept of Vet Affairs
Dignity Health
EPIC MSO Mgmt. for Alliance, Beaver, Chaffey, Family Practice, Fenix, Pinnacle, Redlands Yucaipa, Tri Valley
Medical Groups, and St. Mary’s MGs
Health Net
High Desert Primary Care (St. Joseph) Medical Group
Hispanic Physicians IPA
Humana Inc/Choice Care Network
IEHP
Inland Faculty MG
Kaiser
Medi-Cal
LA Care Direct Network plan-
La Salle Medical Associates/ Network Medical Management
Molina Healthcare
MedPoint Mgmt. MSO for Healthcare LA IPA and Global Care MG
Prime Care Redlands & San Bernardino PODS
Regal MG
Prospect MG/Vantage/Cal Care-
Rios Southwest (Managed By) Elite Health Care
San Bernardino Medical Group
Promise Health plan/BSCA Med-Cal Plan-
United HealthCare/Optum
Village Health/Direct Network
Brand New Day/Universal Care
Arcadian Healthcare

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