Tamara Fitzgerald, MD, PhD, FACS
Pediatric Surgeon
My Locations
About Me
I love caring for infants, children and adolescents. I treat surgical problems in the neck, chest and abdomen such as congenital anomalies, childhood cancers, pectus excavatum, lung abnormalities, hernias and intestinal problems. As a mom, I understand that when a child is ill, it affects the entire family. It is always my goal to facilitate healing, peace and advocacy for families.
- Associate Professor of Surgery, Surgery, Pediatric General Surgery 2021
- Associate Research Professor of Global Health, Duke Global Health Institute 2020
Call for an Appointment
Areas of Expertise
- Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
- Congenital Pulmonary Malformations
- Abdominal Wall Defects (Omphalocele and Gastroschisis)
- Pectus Excavatum
- Thyroid Disorders in Children
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.
Training and Education
In the News
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Clinical Focus and Research
My research focus is global surgery. There are many places around the world where children cannot access surgical care. Children often live with chronic disability or die before they can obtain surgery. It breaks my heart to know that most of these diseases are treatable, but kids cannot access the treatment. My work has focused on training and supporting surgeons in sub-Saharan Africa and finding creative ways to increase children's access to surgery in low-income areas.
- Kakembo, Nasser, David F. Grabski, Tamara N. Fitzgerald, Arlene Muzira, Maija Cheung, Phyllis Kisa, John Sekabira, and Doruk Ozgediz. “Burden of Surgical Infections in a Tertiary-Care Pediatric Surgery Service in Uganda.” Surg Infect (Larchmt) 21, no. 2 (March 2020): 130–35. https://doi.org/10.1089/sur.2019.045.
- Reed, Christopher R., Sarah J. Commander, John Sekabira, Phyllis Kisa, Nasser Kakembo, Anne Wesonga, Monica Langer, Gustavo A. Villanova, Doruk Ozgediz, and Tamara N. Fitzgerald. “Comparison of Ugandan and North American Pediatric Surgery Fellows' Operative Experience: Opportunities for Global Training Exchange.” J Surg Educ 77, no. 3 (2020): 606–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2019.12.001.
- Fitzgerald, Tamara N., and Henry E. Rice. “Investing in all of Our Children: Global Pediatric Surgery for the Twenty-First Century.” World J Surg 43, no. 6 (June 2019): 1401–3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-019-04973-5.
- Fitzgerald, T. N., and R. L. Moss. “Clinical Outcomes Evaluation and Quality Improvement.” In Pediatric Surgery, 227–36, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-07255-7.00014-3.
- Fitzgerald, T. N., and R. L. Moss. “Clinical Outcomes Evaluation and Quality Improvement.” In Pediatric Surgery, 2-Volume Set: Expert Consult - Online and Print, 227–36, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-07255-7.00014-3.
- Fitzgerald, Tamara N., Akihito Muto, Tiffany T. Fancher, Peter B. Brown, Karen A. Martin, Bart E. Muhs, Douglas L. Rothman, Todd R. Constable, Smita Sampath, and Alan Dardik. “Surgically implantable magnetic resonance angiography coils improve resolution to allow visualization of blood flow dynamics.” In Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 207:S113–S113. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health), 2008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2008.06.292.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- 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
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- 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
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- 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)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**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
- Myco