Antonio Escolar Alfonso, MD

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Antonio Alfonso, MD, is vice chair of surgery and director of surgical education at Northwell Health. He specializes in head and neck endocrine surgery and sees patients with thyroid and parathyroid tumors. Dr. Alfonso’s father, a surgeon and academic, had a big influence on his son’s career choice. “My father was disciplined and ethical, and the type of doctor I wanted to be,” he says. Today, Dr. Alfonso has more than 50 years of surgical experience behind him and has trained hundreds of surgical residents. Dr. Alfonso earned his medical degree at the University of the Philippines and completed his residency in general surgery at Temple University Hospital. He continued his training with a fellowship in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He arrived at Northwell in 2017 from State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center, where he was a distinguished teaching professor and Clarence & Mary Dennis chair of the department of surgery. The safe and effective surgical removal of thyroid and parathyroid tumors with excellent cosmetic results is Dr. Alfonso’s standard of care. He values team-based treatment plans and routinely works with nuclear medicine imaging specialists, endocrinologists, other head and neck surgeons, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists. They meet on a weekly basis to discuss strategies for managing especially complex tumors. Dr. Alfonso has served in numerous regional and national leadership positions; he has served as governor-at-large of the American College of Surgeons and as president of the New York Surgical Society, New York Head and Neck Society, Tri-Borough Directors of Surgery Association and president of the New York Cancer Society. Dr. Alfonso has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and textbook chapters. Earlier in his career, he was instrumental in developing bloodless surgery for cancer patients, an approach that avoids blood transfusions during procedures. He has also received the distinction of meeting the Castle Connelly Top Doctor criteria for 20 consecutive years. For Dr. Alfonso, establishing long-term relationships with his patients is one of the best parts of his job. “I really get to know people,” he says. “In fact, patients from years ago call me up—I still have the same cell phone number—asking me to see a family member. That’s the type of practice I have.”