About the Clinic

The Pinheiro Franco Clinic was born around 45 years ago from the dreams of a young neurosurgeon, Luiz Fernando Pinheiro Franco.

Prelude

1932. Almost 100 years ago... Luiz Fernando's father, Nelson Pinheiro Franco, was very young and had an idol in his older brother, Fernando. Fernando was an excellent piano player, entered USP Law School and in 1932 was a Volunteer in the Revolution for the Brazilian Constitution of 1932.

Fernando Pinheiro Franco died in the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 at the age of 19 and today he stands at the Obelisk Monument in Ibirapuera. Nelson followed in his brother's footsteps and went into law. Thus, Nelson Pinheiro Franco lived with and cultivated a friendship with his classmates André Franco Montoro and Jânio da Silva Quadros.

In their youth, the three friends frequented the cafés of Pauliceia Desvairada, discussing ideas and ideals, developing culture, just like the German student youth of 19th century Vienna. Years passed and the three friends excelled in their respective paths: Franco Montoro was Governor of the State of São Paulo and today gives his name to São Paulo International Airport; Jânio Quadros was President of Brazil, and Nelson Pinheiro Franco was President of the São Paulo Court of Justice, the only one to be elected unanimously by all the judges. (Some of the letters from Montoro and Jânio Quadros to Nelson Pinheiro Franco are in the book “PEREGRINATION”, written by Nelson in honor of his wife). Nelson paid tribute to his dearly missed brother by naming his first-born son Luiz Fernando.

Luiz Fernando's mother, Maria Apparecida, a religious educator, elementary school teacher and religion teacher, was one of those responsible for building the Santo Ivo Church. Thus, in this religious environment, with its strict morals, young Luiz Fernando grew up, who received the same rigorous education at the traditional Colégio São Bento, in the city center.

The beginning

46 years ago, the young doctor Luiz Fernando began his neurosurgical activity at a time when Brazil was still in its infancy in terms of surgical techniques, at a time when technological and treatment innovations took years to arrive here in Brazil. It was a time when there were very few doctors compared to today and where the surgeon's creativity was put to the test, given the lack of technological conditions. Thus, in this environment, neurosurgeon Luiz Fernando Pinheiro Franco was trained, a direct disciple of Professor Gilberto Machado de Almeida, an icon of Brazilian neurosurgery.

The 1970s and England

In the 1970s, knowing that he needed to learn about the best neurosurgery in the world, Luiz Fernando went to Europe to live in London in 1978 and 1979, at the University of London, under the leadership of Dr. Lindsay Simon. In Europe, he met several international masters in neurosurgery, such as Alan Crockard, and met Sebastião Gusmão, who became his great friend and would later become the President of the Brazilian Society of Neurosurgery.

The father and the son

In Brazil, he tried, as far as possible, to practice cutting-edge, anatomical neurosurgery for the treatment of brain and spinal disorders. In the 1980s, he visited several countries, always in search of scientific improvement, and lived for a few months in Berlin, Germany, at the end of the decade. In the 1990s, while Dr. Luiz Fernando was training several new Brazilian neurosurgeons, taking on important positions in the main national scientific associations, lecturing at national and international congresses, and introducing valuable minimally invasive techniques for spinal treatments, his son João Luiz was finishing his medical studies at the Escola Paulista de Medicina (Federal University of São Paulo) and beginning his specialization in Neurosurgery. Thus, father and son began working together, where knowledge, as in ancient times, was passed down through the family, from father to son.

The new Europe: France and Germany

In 2003, Dr. João Luiz went to the Old Continent, worked and studied at prestigious universities in France and Germany. He lived in Europe for four years, specializing in the area he loved most: the spine. He did internships in centers in the USA and became a Scientific Reviewer (quality consultant for spine and sciatica treatments) for the most prestigious scientific journals on the spine in Europe (European Spine Journal) and the USA (Spine). He returned to Brazil in 2007 and took up the position of Executive Director of Clínica Pinheiro Franco - Neurosurgery and Spine.

Decade 2010-2020: Pinheiro Franco establishes itself as a spinal treatment reference for the world

In the 2010s, while Dr. Luiz Fernando Pinheiro Franco was increasingly improving minimally invasive spinal surgery techniques, Dr. João Luiz Pinheiro Franco was achieving great national and international repercussions in the scientific field of the spine. First, together with international surgeons Michael Mayer (Germany), Edward Benzel (USA) and Alex Vaccaro (USA), he wrote the first book in Portuguese (480 pages) on the treatment of low back pain. Then, in 2016, he published in Germany the largest book ever written on low back pain and its main cause, degenerative intervertebral disc disease. The book became an international reference for neurosurgeons all over the world. In 2019, he is launching a book in New York on the most important spinal issue of the last decade: lateral balance of the spine. Once again, the name Pinheiro Franco is making Brazil proud abroad, just like one of Dr. João's great heroes, Ayrton Senna of Brazil! These actions have even led to invitations and participation in Scientific Meetings at the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences, attended by Pope Francis himself and several Nobel Prize-winning scientists.

Thus, the Pinheiro Franco family continues to excel in the field of medicine, but it also continues to excel in the legal field, in the person of Dr. Luiz Fernando's three younger brothers: Antônio Celso became a Judge of the São Paulo State Court of Justice, José Roberto was President of the São Paulo State Lawyers Association, and Geraldo was recently elected President of the São Paulo State Court of Justice, occupying, 35 years later, the same chair of the Presidency of this Court that his father Nelson once honored.

A love story

This is a short summary of the history of the Pinheiro Franco Clinic, and of the Pinheiro Franco Family, a family story, a Father and Son story, but also a Mother story, a story of fighting for patients, a story of work, of hard dedication, of seriousness, but above all, a story of love for God's greatest good: A LITTLE STORY FOR LIFE.

Schedule an appointment with a neurosurgeon

Schedule your appointment.