Dr. Jonathon Russell, MD

After researching the best scarless thyroid surgeons in America, I traveled 500 miles to meet with a top surgeon at Johns Hopkins … only to discover that the cancer had spread so much, I needed to see someone even more experienced. They recommended Dr. Russell, described as “the best of the best.” I flew to meet him on a Monday & knew without a doubt that I was in excellent hands. He is intelligent, kind, motivated, & experienced. We booked surgery for that Wednesday. Dr. R was the first person in the Western Hemisphere to perform the surgery I was having: TOETVA with central neck dissection. He explained (with a sketch of my anatomy & tumors!) his strategic approach to achieve the best balance of removing cancer, saving parathyroids, preserving lymph nodes, & protecting vocal cords. He accomplished every goal. I was talking normally by Day Two, never had a sore throat, & there is no cosmetic sign of ever having surgery. PLEASE don’t give weight to that bad review; call him yourself!

Before I tell you about my surgery, I’d like to say that I’ve met a lot of surgeons. Dr Russell is the most human, thoughtful one I’ve met. He really cared about me. I really just didn’t want a scar - for so many reasons. He did an excellent job and the clinic was highly responsive to all my pre- and post-op questions. Professional and excellent work from start to finish!?

I had the scarless thyroidectomy with Dr. Russell and he deformed my chin with this surgery making it lumpy and pointy. Also my neck skin is tethered to the muscles of my neck, my lower left lip is asymmetrical, excruciating nerve pain in the fold of my neck and he accidentally removed one of my healthy parathyroid glands, couldn’t find one and damaged the other two during surgery. I was informed by a surgeon he trained on the technique that scar tissue in the chin is the biggest complication of this procedure and happens when the technique is performed poorly. Dr Russell destroyed my life with hypoparathyroidism and instead of helping me post surgery with the all of the horrific conditions and complications he caused, he gaslit me for years sending me into confusion. He pointed the finger elsewhere with every complication he caused and took no accountability. I have spent thousands of dollars on other doctors and treatments to help me.

Dr. Russell is fantastic! His bedside manner is unmatched, and he tries to give you as many treatment options as possible so that you can decide for yourself what's best for you. His approach is less about removing body parts and more about maximizing quality of life while resolving the health issue at-hand. I was extremely conflicted about getting either an open or scarless lobectomy. I asked an obscene amount of questions and Dr. Russell and his wonderful team answered every single one with patience and understanding. Dr. Russell himself called me one evening when I was feeling particularly anxious! He truly cares.

I want to take this opportunity, on Thanksgiving Day, to that Doctor Russell and his team from John Hopkins. I went to see Doctor Jonathon Russell for a consultation about nodules in my thyroid in 2022. One of those nodules was growing a lot and after a biopsy followed by a sequencing test it was established that the nodule was indeterminate (not benign, not malignant, but with high chances of becoming malignant soon or being malignant already). I felt a lot of uncertainty about what was the right thing to do and Dr. Russell guided me and presented me with all my options. He was kind and very professional. He paid a lot of attention to what I had to say about my health and about my fears. He treated me as a person, a smart person, and not as a thyroid. Together we decided to do the surgery, removing half of my thyroid following a scarless approach. My surgery occurred on October 27, 2022. Dr Russell, his team and John Hopkins hospital took an excellent care of me. They made sure I was safe and good before, during and after the surgery. I cannot thank them enough. One month after my surgery, exactly one year ago I run the Turkey Chase 10K… and today I did the same, in celebration of my recovery. Thanks to Dr Russell, his team and John Hopkins I recovered my health, my strength, my bravery to keep moving forward, appreciating life. All my best wishes to you all and Happy Thanksgiving!

I had a wonderful visit with Dr. Russell. it was my first time seeing him because of my multiple thyroid nodules. I was very anxious and he probably noticed and he knew to calm down an anxious patient. He explained to me everything in a way that I could understand my condition. He even did the ultra sound himself (despite of my U/s in my chart)so that he had a better view himself. He asked questions and he listened to me and answered my questions very well. He was prepared and knew my history. I could not thank him enough for his expertise and making me feel better when I was so scared of my thyroid issues. He even called me to follow up after my biopsy. I highly recommend Dr. Russell. I am happy that he is part of my care team! !!!

Dr. Russell was absolutely wonderful! From our first consult to my actual surgery he was so caring, kind, patient and thorough! I opted for transoral surgery (through the mouth) and although I was very nervous about trying a relatively new surgery procedure, I was so glad I did. I had surgery Sept 2022 and the mouth incisions (small bumps) are almost gone and I love that I don't have a scar on my neck! Bottom line, I can't recommend Dr. Russell enough! He is truly a gifted surgeon and a genuinely nice person! Btw, Make sure you do your neck exercises post surgery, it will keep your neck muscles from stiffening which ensures proper swallowing

My wife had thyroid surgery in Feb 2020. Russell was an "In-Network" doctor. He screwed up putting it through United Health Care twice. Now(Dec 2020), we are being pestered by Hopkins to pay the Gross billing like we were uninsured. While technically competent, I can't say the same for submitting and process the insurance. I wish that we had chosen someone else.

Dr. Russell saw my husband for an enlarged neck lymph node. He quickly suspected oral cancer, did scope and found the lesion. In that moment our lives stopped. But Dr. Russell somehow calmed us and gave time to ask questions, reassured us and referred us to a great surgeon who specialized in base of tongue cancer. He even called her cell and got us an appointment for the next day! He earned our trust with his professionalism, kindness and his amazing way of talking us out of a breakdown.

Awesome surgeon! Jan 26 transoral surgery!!!!! Awesome customer service and personality

My wife had thyroid surgery in the last week of December 2017. We live 5 hours away from Johns Hopkins but meeting Dr. Russell was all worth it! He explained everything to the last bit of detail that made sense to us and was ready to listen to all the concerns we had. We opted for the scarless transoral surgery option and everything went well. My wife and I couldn't be happier and would recommend Dr. Russell without hesitation! Quoting our son verbatim: "thank you for making mommy better!"