Neurosurgeons Dagoberto Estevez-Ordonez, M.D., Ph.D., and Hussam Abou-Al-Shaar, M.D., Join UAMS
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently welcomed neurosurgeons Dagoberto Estevez-Ordonez, M.D., Ph.D., and Hussam Abou-Al-Shaar, M.D., to the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery.
Estevez-Ordonez is the assistant director of UAMS’ neurosurgical skills laboratory and specializes in surgery for brain and skull-base tumors. He uses open and minimally invasive procedures to treat any type of brain tumor, including those affecting patients’ hearing and eyesight as well as tumors that cause double vision, facial pain, numbness and spasms to the face, or difficulty swallowing.
Abou-Al-Shaar is the director of skull-base neurosurgery, director of the neurosurgical skills lab, and associate residency program director at UAMS. He specializes in all skull-base tumors and uses minimally invasive techniques to remove tumors through the nose and the crease of the eyelids. He also specializes in cerebrovascular neurosurgery dealing with blood vessel abnormalities such as aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and cerebral intracranial bypass procedures.
“We are very fortunate to have these two neurosurgeons join our faculty,” said Deanna Sasaki-Adams, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. “Their special skills will enhance the types of services we provide, particularly when it comes to minimally invasive options for surgeries that once necessitated large scalp incisions and significantly longer recovery times.
“I believe these two neurosurgeons have the technical expertise and passion to provide state-of-the-art care to Arkansans,” she added. “They have already contributed more than 300 peer-reviewed publications to neurosurgical literature.”
Estevez-Ordonez was born and raised in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology in 2013 from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He received his medical degree in 2018 from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, followed by his doctoral degree in neuroscience and cell biology in 2023 from the University of Birmingham in Alabama.
After completing his neurosurgery residency at the University of Birmingham, Estevez-Ordonez completed a fellowship in surgical neuro-oncology and skull-base surgery at the University of Miami in Florida. He is a physician-scientist whose emphasis is on the treatment of skull-base and other brain tumors.
Abou-Al-Shaar completed his medical degree at Alfaisal University College of Medicine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2017, graduating summa cum laude and as class valedictorian.
His postgraduate experience included a neurosurgery postdoctoral research fellowship at the Clinical Neurosciences Center at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, a neurosurgery internship at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Manhasset, New York, and a residency in neurological surgery at The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania.
Abou-Al-Shaar also completed fellowships in skull base surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh and in cerebrovascular and skull base surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, as well as additional training at the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation Physician Scientist Incubator program in Pittsburgh.
Both Estevez-Ordonez and Abou-Al-Shaar will see patients at the UAMS Health Neurosurgery Clinic.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 1,030 medical residents and fellows, and two dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###