Donald D. Glower Jr., MD
Accepting New Patients
Duke Health Provider question
I like helping people and talking with patients and their families.
– Donald D. Glower Jr., MD

Donald D. Glower Jr., MD

Heart Surgeon

Duke Health Provider question
Accepting New Patients
Call for an Appointment
Areas of Expertise
Where I See Patients
Duke Heart Transplant Clinic - Clinic 2F/2G - Durham, NC
Duke University Hospital - Durham, NC
Board Certified
American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
I like helping people and talking with patients and their families.
– Donald D. Glower Jr., MD

About Me

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.

School of Medicine Departments and Divisions
Current Appointments and Affiliations
Languages I Speak
English

Call for an Appointment

Areas of Expertise

  • Maze Procedure
  • Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery
  • Mitral Repair
  • Robotic Valve Surgery
  • Tricuspid Valve Surgery

Ratings and Reviews

The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. Learn more about our survey process. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score. Patients who see some types of providers receive a different version of the patient satisfaction survey. Those results are not available on DukeHealth.org.

Overall Provider Rating
4.85 out of 5
138 ratings, 23 reviews

Training and Education

Board Certification
American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
Fellowship
Thoracic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, 1987-1989
Residency
Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, 1980-1987
Education
MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Maryland), 1980

Clinical Focus and Research

My Research Interests

I specialize in minimally invasive heart valve surgery, treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (muscle bound heart), surgical maze procedure for atrial fibrillation, and cardiac tumors. Duke has one of the world's largest experiences with mini-thoracotomy surgery on the aortic, mitral, or tricuspid valves to avoid a breastbone incision.

Clinical Trials
Publications and Grants

Insurance Accepted

Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.

    • Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
    • Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
    • Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
    • Aetna HMO
    • Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
    • Aetna Managed Choice POS
    • Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
    • Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
    • Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
    • Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
    • Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
    • Aetna Open Choice PPO
    • Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
    • Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
    • Aetna Select HMO
    • Aetna Traditional Choice
    • Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
    • Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
    • Aetna/CVS Health
    • Ambetter of North Carolina
    • Blue Advantage
    • Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
    • Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
    • Blue Select
    • NC State Employees Health Plan
    • *Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.

    • Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
    • Cigna Choice Plus
    • Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
    • Cigna Open Access
    • Cigna Open Access Plus
    • *Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.

    • Duke Basic
    • Duke Select
    • Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
  • Gateway Health Alliance
  • Healthgram
    • Humana Choice (PPO)
    • Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
    • Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
    • Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
    • Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
    • Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
  • MedCost
    • First Medicare Direct
    • Medicare Part A
    • Medicare Part B
    • AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
    • Carolina Complete Health
    • Healthy Blue
    • NC Medicaid Direct
    • WellCare of North Carolina
    • TRICARE Prime
    • TRICARE Prime Remote
    • TRICARE Select
    • AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
    • AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
    • AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
    • All Savers Alternate Funding
    • All Savers Fully Insured
    • United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)
    • United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
    • United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
    • United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
    • United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
    • United Healthcare Option PPO
    • United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
    • United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
    • United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
    • United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
    • United Medical Resources (UMR)
    • *Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.

Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.

External Relationships

Duke requires faculty members to report certain relationships outside of their employment in order to ensure potential conflicts can be addressed. This faculty member has reported no outside activities that relate to their Duke responsibilities.