Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, M.D., Neurosurgeon, Johns Hopkins University Hospital
Thanksgiving
Since our Thanksgiving holiday is almost here and I think of the many things I have to be thankful for, at the top of the list is a man whose giftedness in his profession is only exceeded by his humility and his concern for those under his care and others who have fallen victim to cancer. I refer to the neurosurgeon who saved our son’s life 4 times. He goes by the name, Dr Q.
Why?
He completed 4 brain surgeries on our son to remove high grade brain tumor. While some surgeons could do that without losing their patient, Dr Q did it without causing any side effects. After the last resection of tumor, 8 radiation oncologists reviewed post operative MRI scans of the tumor site and expressed the opinion that they’d never seen surgical results displaying such a high level of skill. When we first met Dr Q we didn’t yet know some of his impressive background. He is a graduate of Harvard medical school with honors and at the top of his class and on occasion teaches there as well as speaking and teaching doctors elsewhere and outside the U.S. He is the director of the tumor program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. If he is out of the country, he still stays in touch with the status of his patients and makes arrangements for any necessary care they may need. This is in contrast to our local neurosurgeon’s group at home in Atlanta who chose not to come in to the emergency room the night our son needed to be seen for a very dangerous situation that had arisen. They were supposed to be on call but didn’t find it important enough to even determine how extremely dangerous the situation was.
How dedicated is he?
When we first met him we immediately found him to be very encouraging, positive, and confident. We knew we had been blessed with a truly exceptional human being who let our son know that he would take care of his brain cancer. Dr Q has proven his dedication to his patients every step of the way as far as we’re concerned. Above and beyond all that, he even oversees his own brain tumor research staff.
Johns Hopkins University Hospital
Besides being the number one rated American hospital for many types of cancer and other diseases, the people who work in this hospital provide a level of care, respect, and concern for their patients we will never forget. So, if you ever need a neurosurgeon, what list of qualities would be important to you when determining whom you would choose to save your life or the life of a member of your family? Surgical errors in other parts of the body can often be corrected. The brain isn’t necessarily that tolerant, so we wanted someone who does brain surgery every day. Besides clinic day Dr Q is in surgery on average more than once per day. Does that mean he does surgery whenever possible? It does not. We know, because one of our surgeries had to be rescheduled just before entering the operating room due to an unsafe degree of blood thinness caused by our son’s diet.
Dr Q
So Dr Q, if you ever happen to read this, keep up the good work. You're fantastic! We couldn’t have asked for a finer surgeon, a more dedicated professional or more decent human being than you. We thank God Mexico gave you to us.
So much has been written about him which you will see if you google his name. Here are some links:
