News

Transplantation remains the last hope for many patients with end-stage organ failure. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a nationwide decrease in transplants and organ donation.

Approximately 6 million patients in the United States live with heart failure. Of those, 10% will progress to end-stage heart failure. While there is no cure, heart transplantation can bring hope to patients when other treatments no longer can.

The Duke Department of Surgery now ranks third among surgery departments nationwide in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding received in 2019 according to the newly released Blue Ridge rankings. Duke Surgery has continued to rank in the top five nationally over the past 30 years, demonstrating the department’s long-standing commitment to investigate the impact of disease on patient health. With a diverse portfolio, including 78.7% of funding from the NIH, Duke Surgery faculty and staff perform a wide variety of research to improve the human condition.

Donald D. Glower Jr., MD, had a roundabout entry into the field of robotics and minimally invasive surgery. Originally hired in 1989 for coronary bypass surgery, he soon became involved in minimally invasive surgery using the Heartport Port Access System in 1996.

Every minute, 250 infants are born worldwide, and two of those are born with a congenital heart defect. Severe cases require immediate surgical intervention, and for a pediatric cardiac surgeon, early and accurate detection is essential to creating a successful patient care plan.

In the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Andrew Lodge, MD, Joseph Turek, MD, PhD, and Nicholas Andersen, MD, work closely as a three-person surgical team, part of a larger interdisciplinary pediatric cardiac program at Duke.

In 2019, the Duke heart, lung, liver, and kidney transplant programs experienced unprecedented volume growth: more than 20% for most programs. With 521 total transplants performed in 2019, Duke Health now ranks 8th among U.S. transplant programs.

The Duke Transplant Center (DTC) of the Duke University School of Medicine aims to promote cross-disciplinary clinical, translational, and basic research with the ultimate goal of optimizing transplant organ longevity and improving quality of life of transplant recipients. This is the inaugural annual call from the DTC for proposals for pilot and feasibility studies.

A heart transplant team at Duke University Hospital became the first in the U.S. to transplant an adult heart into a recipient through a process known as Donation after Circulatory Death, or DCD.

Duke is one of five centers in the United States that has been approved to perform DCD heart transplants as part of a recently launched clinical trial of a device to circulate warm, oxygenated blood through organs.

Congratulations to Peter Smith, MD, Mary and Deryl Hart Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, on receiving the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) North Carolina State Award for Excellence - Nurse Practitioner Advocate.

The Advocate State Award for Excellence is given to an individual in each state who has made a significant contribution toward increasing awareness and recognition of Nurse Practitioners (NPs).

Congratulations to Dr. Thomas D’Amico, Gary Hock Professor of Surgery, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, on being invited to the Editorial Board of Annals of Surgery. Annals of Surgery is the top-ranked and highest-impact surgery journal in the world, providing the international medical community with information on significant contributions to the advancement of surgical science and practice. Dr. D’Amico’s appointment to the Editorial Board underscores his international stature as a leading academic surgeon.