News

Photo: Dr. Jeffrey Marcus, Professor and Chief, Division of Plastic, Maxillofacial, and Oral Surgery, and Dr. Brett Phillips, Assistant Professor of Surgery

Colton Southern had plenty to smile about after surgery last year. In fact, it was the first time in the eight-year-old boy’s life that he was able to show how happy he was. Colton’s facial muscles were so weak when he was born that he was unable to show expression. Facial reanimation surgery at Duke Children’s Hospital brought a smile to Colton’s face -- and to the faces of his thankful family.

Read Colton's story on the Duke Health Blog

The Translating Duke Health Children’s Health & Discovery Initiative (CHDI) has awarded Duke surgeons $100,000 over the next two years for a project to improve the care of patients with cleft lip and/or palate in North Carolina.

Anna Carlson, MD, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Resident, recently received the R. K. Daniel Resident Award at the 2018 Rhinoplasty Society Annual Meeting in New York City.

Dr. Jeffrey Marcus, Professor and Chief of the Division of Plastic, Maxillofacial, and Oral Surgery, has been appointed President of the Rhinoplasty Society.

This year’s institution-wide Duke Quality and Safety Meeting brought over 600 participants and 150 abstracts. In preparation for the American College of Surgeons Children’s Surgery Verification Program, a robust and integrated quality and safety program for Duke Children’s Surgery was developed over the past several years by Dr.

The 4th Annual Duke Craniomaxillofacial Trauma Course had over 50 participants representing a broad scope of surgical subspecialties, including Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial Surgery, Oculoplastics, and Otolaryngology, with attendees from New York, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and every major academic teaching hospital in North Carolina.  

The Duke Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeffrey R. Marcus, MD, as the new Chief of the Division of Plastic, Maxillofacial, and Oral Surgery. Dr. Marcus is the Paul H. Sherman Endowed Associate Professor of Surgery and an Associate Professor in Pediatrics at Duke.

In January, Duke launched its CleftKit project — a prospective data-collection system for cleft research and quality improvement. The project is led by pediatric plastic surgeon Alexander C. Allori, MD, MPH, a former member of the ACPA Data Standard Committee. CleftKit is built on the foundation of the Standard Set of Outcome Measures for Cleft Lip/Palate (CL/P) that was developed by an international and multidisciplinary working group under the auspices of the International Consortium of Health Outcome Measures (ICHOM). 

Representatives from the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) and the Cleft Palate Foundation (CPF) recently visited the Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center and gave the team a glowing review. Wendy-Jo Toyama, ACPA Executive director, observed patient/family interactions and says it is “powerful to see care in action.”