Duke University Health System — Local services in Durham

My mother had mitral valve surgery at Duke by Dr. Donald Glower MD. This would replace a pig valve that had lasted 13 years, with a new mechanical valve. There was a slight risk of scar tissue from the previous surgery that could cause a problem but we were told it was minimal risk. All surgeries carry risk.

But something went terribly wrong during the surgery which caused her to suffer a major stroke during the procedure. What's more, they did not know she had the stroke until after she came out of anesthesia, which was too late. Her life would never be the same. She struggled and suffered from the stroke for 17 long years before she passed away in 2013.

I believe with all my heart that it was because a medical student was allowed to participate in the surgery. It took much longer than it should have and my Mother was NOT a smoker and led a healthy lifestyle.

I blame Dr. Glower since he was responsible for the surgery. And what took so long when it was supposed to be a typical procedure? Something took the extra time... student learning, awareness of the stroke? We are talking about an extra 2 hours of surgical time, something was going on that was not routine. Painfully, we will never know. None of us know what is happening to our loved ones when they are behind those closed doors.

So if you want to take a chance with your life and be a guinea pig, go ahead and have health care performed at Duke Medical Center. It's a teaching hospital so patients are used to teach students so they get hands-on training. My Mother had faith in Duke because of the previous surgery she had done with a different surgeon several years before.

The rehab center there was also a nightmare. I had an incident with a nurse that would not take my Mother to the bathroom after repeated calls to the nurses station. Mother required proper handling to prevent a fall and I was not qualified. I over-heard the nurse say "just let her wait". This nurse did not know I was standing behind the door and if I had not been there, my Mother would have been neglected in this manner. NEVER leave your loved one in a hospital or rehab alone....ever...at any hospital.

Over the years I have heard numerous stories about mistakes and careless, arrogant health care at Duke. But the average patient cannot penetrate or argue with the "fraternity" of doctors and the attorneys that protect them. Not to mention the disclaimers that you sign when admitted to the hospital that give them free reign to do as they please, because you have released them from any...

This letter will be copied and placed on the webpages of all companies. My story begins almost a year ago. My husband ( a Duke Internal Medicine pt) was scheduled for a follow up colonoscopy after having multiple polyps found the year before. In the course of the year, my insurance changed and we secured Market place insurance with United Health Care. This was premium insurance, very expensive monthly premiums and a 250.00 deductible. The providers office did a referral, and here is where the water goes murky. Duke, at the time did not take the type of UNC insurance (compass platinum), so an appointment was mad via the providers office with UNC healthcare. My husband called UHC prior to the visit to make sure the paperwork was in order and was told" the procedure was a covered 100%"). He had the procedure, and received a bill. Part of the bill was covered but 2900.00 was not. Upon investigation per UNC, the "referral was for a screening, not diagnostic and needed a new number. The provider office said the referral did not need a number and would look into it. UHC said the referral was not correct as well. After multiple phone calls with all three groups and a lot of finger pointing between companies, the bill was turned over to collections, and UNC will not return phone calls. A customer service rep from Duke has also looked into the situation and told us today, everyone is blaming someone else. Here is the sad thing, all these companies advertise "patients first, patient centered care" etc. The patient should not be responsible for making sure referrals have a correct number, should not be responsible for making sure codes are correct. He did due diligence to make sure prior to the procedure that it was covered. The final disservice and disrespect to the patient is making them jump through hoops to find out no one is accountable but him. $2900.00 may not be a lot to some, but it is a lot to us. Add the monthly expense of the insurance premiums, for what should be covered and this...

I am so thankful for Duke University Health System. In 2021, my daughter came to my house to check on me because she had tried to contact me for 3 days with no success. She immediately knew something was very wrong. I couldn’t even walk and was in and out of reality. She ended up calling EMS to get them to assist in getting in her car. That’s because she knew my county hospital was not where I needed to be. She was so right and I am so thankful for that decision. In 2 hours, she had a diagnosis. Apparently, I had an aneurysm (didn’t know I had it) burst in my brain. The blood from that caused a stroke. I ended up needing a specialized brain surgery that only 2 neurologist in the US had experience in doing. One of those was at Duke! The other neurosurgeon flew in from California to assist. I ended up having an 11 hour brain surgery, that included a craniotomy and having 2 clips and a coil put in my brain. I was hospitalized 6 weeks, then had 4 weeks of rehabilitation. I had to stay with my daughter 4 months so I could get home care. I couldn’t even sit up in bed by myself at first. The neurosurgeon at Duke even told my daughter I would probably never be able to work or live independently again. 6 months later, I was 75% back to normal. 6 more months, I am 99% back to normal. I know I would not have had the outcome I have if I had gone anywhere else. In fact, I told my daughter that if anything else happened, to take me straight to Duke Hospital. Thank you to all the Duke nurses, doctors, and...