News

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.

Congratulations to Linda Cendales, MD, on her election to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Board of Directors as an at-large representative in surgery.

Dr. Jeffrey Marcus, Professor and Chief, Division of Plastic, Maxillofacial, and Oral Surgery, and Dr. Alexander Allori, Assistant Professor of Surgery, have co-authored two of the top 10 most downloaded articles of 2019 in the Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Journal. This achievement is a testament to their world-renowned expertise and leadership in cleft lip/palate care. The two articles focus on diagnostic coding and the history of classifying cleft lip/cleft palate over the past 100 years.

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.