Dr. Peter K. Smith
Overview
I am a heart surgeon who specializes in coronary artery bypass, grafting and valve replacement. Including medical school, I have been at Duke for over 40 years. Since 1994, I’ve been Duke’s Chief of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. My father was a doctor, so medicine runs in my family. As a heart surgeon, I see patients who are looking for someone they can trust to share in the risk of having a surgery that will lengthen their life. There’s nothing more rewarding than being worthy of that trust and succeeding in helping the patient achieve that goal at the end of the adventure. I enjoy being chief because our division offers a great mix of youthful energy and vast experience. We also offer every potential heart, lung or esophageal surgery option available, at a nationally recognized level of quality. In my spare time, I enjoy collecting first edition mysteries and reading.
His top area of expertise is Heart Bypass Surgery.
Insurance
Accepted insurance can change. Please verify directly with the provider.
Accepted insurance plans:
- EPO
- HMO
- POS
- PPO
- EPO
- HMO
- PPO
- EPO
- HMO
- POS
- PPO
- EPO
- HMO
- PPO
- HMO
- INDEMNITY
- POS
- PPO
- INSURANCE PLAN
- MANAGED MEDICAID PLAN
- MEDICARE MAPD
- MEDICARE PDP
- MEDICARE SNP
- MEDICARE-MEDICAID PLAN
- OTHER MEDICARE PART D
- HMO
- POS
- EPO
- HMO
- POS
- PPO
Locations
40 Duke Medicine Cir, Durham, NC 27710
Additional Areas of Focus
Dr. Smith has provided the following conditions as areas of focus. Please note that we may not have enough data to validate their experience in some of these conditions.
Duke Heart Transplant Clinic - Clinic 2F/2G
Carmelo Milano is a General Surgeon and a Transplant Surgeon in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Milano has been practicing medicine for over 35 years is highly rated in 12 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Tricuspid Regurgitation, Constrictive Pericarditis, Heart Tumor, Heart Transplant, and Heart Bypass Surgery.
Duke Spine Center - Clinic 1B/1C
Throughout my medical career, I have remained dedicated to improving my patients' quality of life. As a specialist in adult cervical and spinal deformity surgery, I understand the significant impact our interventions have on individuals suffering from debilitating pain and physical and mental health challenges. Spinal deformity surgery merges the complexities of spinal biomechanics with the needs of an aging population. My research focuses on spinal alignment, biomechanics, innovative surgical techniques, and health economics to ensure value-based care that enhances patient outcomes. Dr. Passias is highly rated in 23 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Kyphosis, Lordosis, Scoliosis, Osteotomy, and Spinal Fusion.
Duke Cancer Center
With over 20 years of experience as a busy general thoracic surgeon, I am referred patients with cancers in the chest and other difficult problems involving all the organs of the chest that are not from cancer. One of the things that attracted me to the field is the long-term relationship with my patients. I tell all my patients that I’m their doctor for life. I see patients for many, many years. Back in 2000, when we had a 26-inch snow here -- it was a Tuesday -- on my clinic day, everyone said no one would come to clinic. But I actually had 23 or 24 patients show up in four-wheel drives. It’s not that I’m such a fabulous doctor that they came to see me. It’s that they are cancer patients and this was their annual visit or their follow up. It was important to them. So we were here for them, and they came. I enjoy seeing my patients back 12, 13, 14 years later and learning what they’ve been up to and what their families have been up to. That’s a bond you get in oncology that a lot of other fields don’t have that treat patients then turn them back over to their primary care physicians. We as a team follow people, and I like that. Dr. Harpole is highly rated in 14 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Endoscopy, and Advanced Bronchoscopy.
Areas of Expertise
MediFind evaluates expertise by pulling from factors such as number of articles a doctor has published in medical journals, participation in clinical trials, speaking at industry conferences, prescribing and referral patterns, and strength of connections with other experts in their field.
Learn more about MediFind’s expert tiers