Dr. Carmelo A. Milano

My particular area of interest is what we call structural heart disease in adults. That usually involves valve problems, things like muscle bound hearts, tumors of the heart or sometimes arrhythmias. Another area of interest for me is minimally invasive surgery, which involves entering the heart area through the ribs on the side rather than through the breast bone, either manually with a camera or robotically. Surgeons are very hands-on people. We like doing things. But most of all we like helping people, talking with patients and their families, and helping them make up their minds about whether to have a procedure done, what kind of procedure to have, and helping them get through the procedure afterwards. That’s what we really enjoy doing. That’s really satisfying. Dr. Glower is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Constrictive Pericarditis. His top areas of expertise are Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Mitral Stenosis, Atrial Myxoma, Heart Valve Repair, and Aortic Valve Replacement.

Many years ago, I came across a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. Since that time, those words have guided my professional life from the field I chose to how I care for my patients who experience discomfort from acid reflux, hiatal hernia and paraesophageal hernia. With every individual and their families, I make sure that they appreciate my understanding of how their health issues provide them with new stresses that may leave them confused and scared. As a result, I pride myself on reassuring my patients and making sure that by the time they leave their clinic visit they know that I have their best interests at heart. Personally, my wife and I are the proud parents of three boys. Consequently, I like to spend my free time making use of their unlimited energy by running them around at all the great parks in the local area. Dr. Klapper is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Constrictive Pericarditis. His top areas of expertise are Fibrosing Mediastinitis, Esophageal Perforation, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Lung Transplant, and Thymectomy.

A significant portion of my practice involves advanced minimally invasive techniques in thoracic surgery to treat diseases such as lung or esophageal cancer. Another part of my clinical practice is spent taking care of patients with severe lung disease, especially those needing lung transplantation. Patients from all over the world come to Duke for lung transplantation. Research demonstrates that experience is very important in taking care of complex medical problems, both on the surgical side and on the medical side. We have one of the largest transplant centers in the world with excellent survival statistics, as well as the shortest wait list time. Instead of the national average which may be four to six months, our patients wait an average of about two weeks. One of the best aspects of being a patient or working at Duke is the people who work here. No matter how challenging the medical problems may be or what problems may arise, I know there’s a world’s expert a phone call away who can help intervene and I know that my patients will be cared for by committed Duke staff from across the hospital. Dr. Hartwig is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Constrictive Pericarditis. His top areas of expertise are Lung Cancer, Hiatal Hernia, Thymic Epithelial Tumor, Endoscopy, and Heart Transplant.