This is dr. alfredo hinojosa. they call him dr. q. here taking out a life-threatening brain tumor. this is quite an operating room. got all your scans up, intraoperative ct scanners. one of the finest hospitals in the world. this is your room? this is my room. they built this specifically for our service. reporter: at 42 dr. q. is at the top of his game. but life wasn t always like this. in fact, it s been a long journey from his hometown in mexicali, mexico. he started working at the age of a at his father s gas station. his family was poor and things got worse when the business collapsed. in 1987, young quinones headed north to the border.