Stewart  Dalton, MD
Accepting New Patients
My hope is to return patients back to feeling their best as quickly as possible through nonoperative and surgical interventions alike.
– Stewart Dalton, MD

Stewart Dalton, MD

Hand and Upper Extremity Surgeon, Hand Surgeon, Orthopaedic Surgeon

Accepting New Patients
Areas of Expertise
Where I See Patients
Kernodle Clinic Mebane - Mebane, NC
Kernodle Clinic West - Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine - Burlington, NC
My hope is to return patients back to feeling their best as quickly as possible through nonoperative and surgical interventions alike.
– Stewart Dalton, MD

My Locations

Kernodle Clinic Mebane
Kernodle Clinic West - Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

About Me

I am an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in treating conditions of the hand, wrist, forearm, and elbow. These include chronic and acute injuries, degenerative diseases such as arthritis of the fingers and wrist, fractures, carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, and various tendon and nerve problems.

Conditions and injuries of the hand or wrist can be severely debilitating to people. My hope is to return patients back to feeling their best as quickly as possible through nonoperative and surgical interventions alike. I am thankful for the privilege of being a part of my patients' recovery process.

My goal is to always take a patient-centered approach. I value getting to know my patients and hearing their stories. I want to empower them to make the most informed decision possible by discussing the pros and cons of each treatment option. I hope to make each patient feel at ease during each step of their healing process.

I am a proud alum of Davidson College, where I was a member of the track and field team. In my free time, I enjoy cycling, the outdoors, and spending time with my wife and black lab.

Current Appointments and Affiliations

Languages I Speak

English

Call for an Appointment

Areas of Expertise

Ratings and Reviews

The ratings and reviews are based on patient responses to the overall provider rating question from the survey. The question reads: “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?” Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers. Learn more about our survey process. 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
4.80 out of 5
60 ratings, 3 reviews

Training and Education

Fellowship

Hand Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2025

Residency

General Surgery Internship, Duke University, 2018-2019

Orthopaedic Surgery, John Peter Smith Health Network (Texas), 2019-2024

Education

MD, University of Florida, 2018

Clinical Focus and Research

Publications
View my publications on PubMed

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 (*Available in select counties only)
    • Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
    • Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
    • Blue Select
    • Blue Value (*Duke Health Lake Norman and Kernodle Clinics only)
    • 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.

    • Cigna Care (*Beginning January 2026)
    • Duke Advantage (*Beginning January 2026)
    • Duke Basic
    • Duke Options (*Beginning January 2026)
    • Duke Select
    • Duke USA (*Beginning January 2026)
    • 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
    • Alliance Health (*Beginning January 2026)
    • AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
    • Carolina Complete Health
    • Healthy Blue
    • NC Medicaid Direct
    • Partners (*Beginning January 2026)
    • Trillium (*Beginning January 2026)
    • UHC Community Plan
    • Vaya Health (*Beginning January 2026)
    • 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.

    • **Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.

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.

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