News

Congratulations to the Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Team! They received notice that the American Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Association (ACPA) Commission on Approval of Teams voted to fully approve the Duke Team as a “Cross-Specialty Team” for a period of five years beginning January 1, 2020. The ACPA only approves teams that meet certain standards for comprehensive and coordinated cleft and craniofacial care. Congratulations to everyone on the team who has contributed every single day to make this possible.

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.

The Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center recently had ten abstracts accepted for podium presentations at the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association Annual Meeting to be held March 31–April 4, 2020. This number shatters any prior single year performance for the Duke team.

The Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center will be holding its first annual Smile Stand this year to raise support and celebrate the cleft and craniofacial community. The Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Team is a multidisciplinary team led by Dr. Jeffrey Marcus and Dr. Alexander Allori dedicated to the care of children with cleft and craniofacial conditions. Please join the team for their inaugural event.

On August 5, Durham Mayor Steve Schewel presented the Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center with a Proclamation to promote cleft and craniofacial awareness in Durham. One of the team’s patients, Marilyn Taylor, a 7-year-old Durham County resident, accepted the Proclamation along with Dr. Jeffrey Marcus, Professor and Chief, Division of Plastic, Maxillofacial, and Oral Surgery and Director of the Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center. The center is so proud of Marilyn for representing their team!

A Duke Health team removed a patient's partial, non-functional hand and transplanted a donor hand at the same time. This surgical case marks the third hand transplant at Duke and in the state of North Carolina.

Led by Dr. Linda Cendales, Director of the Duke Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Program, a team of over 30 surgeons, anesthesiologists, operating room staff, residents, fellows, lab technicians, and transplant and research coordinators worked tirelessly over 14 hours to make the novel procedure a success.

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 Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center was recently chosen to partner with the American Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Association (ACPA) to distribute GUND teddy bears to cleft and craniofacial patients who visit the center.

A distinguishing feature of the Cleft Courage Bears is a stitched (repaired) cleft lip designed to bring comfort to cleft patients who may feel anxious about their facial differences. So far, the bears have been a hit with patients.

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.