News

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.

The Department of Surgery held its 4th Annual Research Day April 17. The department holds this event annually to advance its mission of improving patient care through research and training the next generation of surgeon–scientists. The event recognizes the accomplishments of fellows, residents, and students engaged in clinical or basic and translational research through the department.

The U.S. News and World Report has ranked the Duke University School of Medicine 2nd in surgery among the best medical schools in the country. This 2nd place ranking is up considerably from the department’s 5th place ranking last year.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research has released its 2018 rankings of NIH funding for basic and clinical science departments, revealing that Duke Surgery ranks highest nationwide with more than $30 million in funding committed to research.

Photo: (From left) Henry Rice, Astrid Tello, Sohail Dogar, and Bria Johnston. Tello, from Guatemala, and Dogar, from Pakistan, were patient safety fellows at Duke this spring.

It’s a given that medical providers think about patient safety, but as Duke pediatric surgeon Henry Rice, MD, has discovered through his international research, many healthcare facilities fail to establish a safety culture—leading to preventable medical errors, complications, and poor patient outcomes.

We are pleased to announce that Henry E. Rice, MD, Professor and Chief of Pediatric General Surgery, has received the 2018 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. This award is presented annually to a Duke faculty member who embodies compassion, sensitivity, respect for patients and colleagues, and clinical excellence. Sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, this honor recognizes faculty of the highest caliber at nearly 80 of the nation’s medical schools.

Photo: Henry Rice, MD, with Safety and Quality fellows Carla Ramírez, MD, Sindy Mendez Soveranis, MD, during the fellowship training at Duke in September 2017

Congratulations to Dr. Henry Rice, Chief, Division of Pediatric General Surgery, for his recent publication in PLOS ONE. Dr. Rice’s research titled “Economic Analysis of Children’s Surgical Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Analysis,” scans a 19-year period from 1996 to 2015 and sheds light on the economic value of pediatric surgery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The article was co-written by Anthony T. Saxton, senior clinical trials assistant in the Department of Surgery, and Emily R.