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Donald D. Glower Jr.

Professor Emeritus of Surgery
Surgery, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
Box 3851 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
4554 Hospital South, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


Current clinical research projects examine the effects of patient characteristics and surgical technique in outcome after minimally invasive cardiac surgery, valve repair and replacement, and coronary artery bypass grafting.
Prior work has examined the role of surgical therapy versus medical therapy in aortic dissection, load-independent means to quantify left and right ventricular function, and management of complex coronary disease.

Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations


Professor Emeritus of Surgery · 2026 - Present Surgery, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Surgery

Recent Scholarly Works


Survival After Mechanical vs Biological Mitral Valve Replacement: Influence of Age vs Operative Mortality Score.

Journal article Ann Thorac Surg · July 2026 BACKGROUND: Although predicted risk of operative mortality (PROM) varies among patients, current guidelines favor bioprostheses for patients aged over 65 or 70 years. We compared survival after biological vs mechanical mitral valve replacement (MVR), and a ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Importance of Patient Life Expectancy.

Journal article Ann Thorac Surg · April 18, 2026 Full text Link to item Cite

Relative Importance of Timing vs Size of Preoperative Stroke for Valve Operation in Infective Endocarditis.

Journal article Ann Thorac Surg · April 2026 BACKGROUND: The optimal timing of operation for infective endocarditis with preoperative stroke remains unclear. METHODS: Adults undergoing an operation for acute aortic or mitral valve infective endocarditis were reviewed from our institutional database f ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Medtronic Cardiac Surgery Post Market Clinical Follow-Up Registry

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Medtronic, Inc. · 2020 - 2032

Abbott CRD 985 Annuplasty

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by St. Jude Medical Inc. · 2021 - 2024

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Education


Johns Hopkins University · 1980 M.D.