Hi Vanessa,
I am not familiar with Dr. Holliday, though I'm sure he is very competent. To be at John Hopkins is the BEST place to have the AN removed. I had a benign tumor, the size of a thumbnail, removed in January 2005. I was taken care of by Dr. Rafael Tamargo (neurosurgeon) and Dr. Lloyd Minor (who removed the tumor). You can look up their credentials through the John Hopkins website, as well as any doctor's background. i go down to HJH about once a year now to see Dr.Tamargo for followup,
he likes to see his patients for 5 years afterwards, this will be my third visit. I was quite fortunate to come out of the surgery with only minor side-affects, which have gradually subsided to barely nothing. However, my side-affects were somewhat different than what I was warned about. I had doublevision (for a few weeks) and affected tastebuds (which has improved greatly, but not quite 100% yet). Everyone is different with post-op. I am permanently deaf in my right ear, but there are known cases of patients regaining their hearing through nerve regeneration (so I'm told). There are also various aids offered to regain some semblance of normal hearing (but that will be discussed later by your doctor(s)). I wish your husband well and for great success!
Frank