Dr. Percita L. Ellis

I’m a pediatric neurologist and chief of pediatric neurology at Duke. My specialty is pediatric epilepsy. It’s extremely rewarding to treat a child because you are changing the life of not only the patient but also of their family. The most important thing in treating a patient is listening and forming a connection. You have to know where the patient and the family are coming from. By listening and observing, I can better understand their needs and then apply the most advanced knowledge and technologies to help them. There is a lot of patient education that goes on and it’s very important and most delightful to do that in close partnership and alliance with the family particularly in an often complex disorder like childhood epilepsy. Outside of work, I enjoy classical music, reading, biking, jogging and traveling, but what I truly enjoy most of all is taking care of patients. Dr. Mikati is highly rated in 6 conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood, Epilepsy in Children, Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, Increased Head Circumference, and Deep Brain Stimulation. Dr. Mikati is board certified in American Board Of Psychiatry/Neurology, Neurology With Special Qualifications In Child Neurology. Dr. Mikati is currently accepting new patients.

I was born and raised right here in Durham, NC. After attending college at Duke, I ventured north to Boston, where I completed most of my medical training, and was fortunate to meet and marry the love of my life, my husband Neil (also on faculty as a cardiologist here at Duke). I returned to Durham for my Glaucoma fellowship, briefly joined the faculty “across the street” at UNC-Chapel Hill, and then returned “home” to Duke Eye Center in 1995, where I have been on the faculty ever since. Dual fellowship-trained in both Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus as well as in Glaucoma, I have a clinical and research focus on pediatric glaucoma and cataracts, as well as retinopathy of prematurity, but enjoy providing care for myriad pediatric problems of the eyes, including treatment of “grown children” with ocular alignment issues. My modus operandi is very simple – I simply try hard to treat each and every patient the way I would like someone to treat me. It works every time, and I am privileged to be a clinician and educator at Duke Eye Center and in Duke University Health System. Dr. Freedman is highly rated in 22 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Retinopathy of Prematurity, Strabismus, Brown Syndrome, Trabeculectomy, and Cataract Removal. Dr. Freedman is board certified in American Board Of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology. Dr. Freedman is currently accepting new patients.

I treat children with cancer and blood disorders, such as anemia and sickle cell disease. When families come in, there is understandably a huge amount of anxiety. I try to spend a lot of time with them and discuss what we know, what we need to find out, and how we plan to care for their children. My goal is to make it the least scary as possible for both the children and the parents/caregivers while providing the best care. Even in the setting of severe illness, interacting with children is uplifting and extremely rewarding. Children truly demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit. What I love most about my job is having relationships with children and seeing them grow; it is a wonderful experience. Dr. Rothman is highly rated in 3 conditions, according to our data. Her clinical expertise encompasses Anemia, Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), Hydrops Fetalis, Fetal Edema, and Splenectomy. Dr. Rothman is board certified in American Board Of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. Dr. Rothman is currently accepting new patients.