John W. Harmon, M.D., FACS

Professor, Surgery
Director, Surgical Research

Contact Information and Appointments

410-550-1226 phone  jharmon@jhmi.edu
410-550-2011 fax

Cancer Second Opinion Program

410-550-HOPE (4673)

Curriculum Vitae (CV), Publications (PubMed)

Specialties/Interests

• Clinical - complex general surgery including hernia repairs, breast cancer multi-modality treatment, gall bladder, parathyroid and thyroid surgery
   
  
• Research - wound healing

Biography

John W. Harmon, M.D., FACS, professor of surgery at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of surgical research at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, earned a medical degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York and received surgical training at the Harvard University Medical School.

A general surgeon with a wide-ranging practice including a variety of complex clinical problems, Harmon specializes in the management of complex hernias and wounds. However, his many surgical interests include:

• Hernias
  - management of primary and recurrent inquinal and abdominal hernias
  - mesh repairs
  - component separation of surgical procedures (open or laparoscopic)
  - individualized selection of surgical procedures (open or laparoscopic)
  - use of bio-artificial mesh
   
  
• Wound Healing
  - working with the staff at the Johns Hopkins Wound Center to manage poorly healing wounds of all types
  - directing clinical trials of new treatment modalities for wound healing
   
  
• Breast
  - multi-modality treatment for breast cancer
  - individualized surgical treatment for breast cancer
  - reconstructive surgery
   
  
• Colon and Small Bowel
  - resections without colostomy for cancer, diverticulitis or inflammatory bowel disease
  - management of the difficult colostomy: prolapse, hernia, take down reconnect
   
  
• Stomach
  - treatment of cancers with multimodality program
   
  
• Thyroid
  - management of a thyroid nodule
  - management of thyroid cancer
  - surgery for hyperthyroidism
    
• Parathyroid
  - surgical management of primary, secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism
  - preoperative localization with sestamibi scans and ultrasound
  - minimally-invasive parathyroid surgery
  - real time assay of parathyroid hormone to track surgical results

With numerous research interests, including the pathophysiology of gastro-esophageal diseases, Harmon has been featured in several publications regarding the gastrointestinal organs including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. He has also published information dealing with military medicine, specifically blast injuries. Harmon was one of the first to publish, in his paper on Zollinger Ellison syndrome, the importance removing tumors. He also was the first to observe an endocrine effect of marijuana. His animal studies of GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) were extensive and helped explain the pathophysiology of the condition.