Debra L. Sudan, MD

I chose medicine as my career because it was the perfect way to combine my love of learning and being challenged with my desire to make a positive difference in people's lives. During my general surgery residence in medical school, I gravitated toward transplantation precisely because of the immediate and profound impact it can have on someone’s health and quality of life. After completing a transplant fellowship at the University of Nebraska, I practiced surgery in Omaha, Nebraska for 14 years before coming to Duke to be a leader in its nationally renowned transplant program. As an abdominal transplant surgeon, I perform surgery on people needing organ transplantation in the abdominal region of the body, with a particular expertise in the areas of liver and small bowel transplants. I see transplant patients of all ages, but I find it especially rewarding to take care of pediatric patients. Transplant patients, in general, tend to be very sick, have a poor quality of life and, without transplant, have little hope of getting better. Having the opportunity to use my skill and expertise to help these children and their families is incredibly gratifying.