Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center

Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center Forum for patients and families of the Duke Cleft and Craniofacial Center

This page is to give patients and families a way to connect, share stories, and even post pictures.

Welcome Siera Merritt to our Cleft and Craniofacial Team family!! We are so lucky to have Siera jump in as Dr. Marcus’s ...
04/09/2026

Welcome Siera Merritt to our Cleft and Craniofacial Team family!! We are so lucky to have Siera jump in as Dr. Marcus’s right hand!! She will assist in clinic and coordinate surgical scheduling. Get to know Siera!!

“I am a pediatric nurse with 7 years of experience at Duke- all focused on comprehensive pediatric care. My background includes 4 years with pediatric bone marrow transplant and oncology, 3 years with population health serving as an RN case manager/coordinator for the NC InCK pilot program and a behavioral health RN with the Collaborative Care program. I also work PRN as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) in the ED for children and adults. I am currently completing my MSN degree in the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program at Duke, graduating in December. I live in Raleigh (no pets, no kids!), although I love any pets and kids that I can return to their parents😊 I enjoy reading, hiking/walking, traveling, serving on the children’s ministry and medic teams at my church, and spending lots of time with my friends and family, who live close by. Some of my other medical interests include, medical missions/humanitarian aid, child advocacy/maltreatment, social determinants of health, and student health. I’m excited to learn and grow my pediatric knowledge by working with you all on this amazing team!”

3XSC - Watch Ben Kjar's (pronounced "care") powerful and emotional movie, Standout, to learn the significance behind it!...
03/28/2026

3XSC - Watch Ben Kjar's (pronounced "care") powerful and emotional movie, Standout, to learn the significance behind it! Ben was born with Crouzon Syndrome, and this story tells how he overcame challenges and hardships to find confidence and light in his life- to be a "standout". He is now a world champion wrestler, and his story is motivational and moving. You can stream the movie on a platform called Angel or watch it in select theatres. (benkjar.com) He gave the keynote speech at the ACPA conference. Meeting him and hearing his positive messasge was the highlight of our 2026 ACPA experience.

How lucky Ana-Maria, Carlee and Dr. Santiago are to represent the Duke Team at the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial As...
03/26/2026

How lucky Ana-Maria, Carlee and Dr. Santiago are to represent the Duke Team at the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association Annual meeting this week! We have learned new, innovative treatments and approaches to care, met strong, brave people, caught up with old friends (shout out to Dr. Chris Forrest!!), and made new friends from Teams around the nation. We also think it is hillarious to see Dr. Marcus here (on a poster). Bringing it all back to Durham to share with our awesome families!

What a smile!! Anderson is so cute- and has been since he was a baby. He’s a big kid now- and really loves music. He’s a...
03/19/2026

What a smile!! Anderson is so cute- and has been since he was a baby. He’s a big kid now- and really loves music. He’s a drummer- and living his best life. (Although probably pretty loud at his house)
We will need to get your autograph at your next visit - you are on your way to stardom!!

Happy Birthday, Carter!! You are 3!! We love it when a Team visit lines up with a birthday. You are growing up so fast ...
03/15/2026

Happy Birthday, Carter!! You are 3!! We love it when a Team visit lines up with a birthday. You are growing up so fast and are such a happy, outgoing little guy. Enjoy your Spiderman birthday party! (As Spiderman says, "with great cuteness, comes great responsibility") 😉🕸🕸🕸

03/11/2026

Rachael!!! You are part of our family. We love you- thank you for coming today!! You made everyone's day! 😘

Wendel is such an awesome person- he is cool, kind, funny, smart and handsome. He is also busy with life and college so ...
03/10/2026

Wendel is such an awesome person- he is cool, kind, funny, smart and handsome. He is also busy with life and college so we were extremely hapy he could fit us in!! We've known him his whole life- and everyone just loves seeing him and catching up. Sorry Wendel, I don't think we can ever graduate you from our Team! 💙

Athena strikes again- caught being awesome! This is an award she won at school for growth in reading. Mom reports it's ...
03/07/2026

Athena strikes again- caught being awesome! This is an award she won at school for growth in reading. Mom reports it's partly due to her tremendous improvement with her speech sounds. Both Mom and Athena shout out to Jenny Kern for "un-BEE-🐝lievable" speech help and progress. 🙂
Athena- we are so proud of you and know you can do anything you set your mind to!

Would your child like to go to camp this summer? YES!! All kids should be able to enjoy a camp experience- check out thi...
03/05/2026

Would your child like to go to camp this summer? YES!! All kids should be able to enjoy a camp experience- check out this opportunity at Victory Junction in NC!

Look who stopped by on a Wednesday... Melissa!! Most all of you remember her fondly- as our Team social worker for over ...
03/02/2026

Look who stopped by on a Wednesday... Melissa!! Most all of you remember her fondly- as our Team social worker for over a decade! 🥰She says "hello" and gives her best to all our families! So glad to see you Melissa, come visit anytime 😘

For the families we walk alongside, a smile can be a hard-won victory. It represents the late nights, persevering throug...
02/28/2026

For the families we walk alongside, a smile can be a hard-won victory. It represents the late nights, persevering through NAM, hoping the next feeding will go well, and the belief that every child deserves to express their joy without hesitation. We celebrate the strength behind every smile that evolves the first year of life. Barron - we sure love your smile, (and the original is priceless as well).

Crystal, Levi's mom, wanted to share a picture of Levi and the orthodontics team from last week. "He got his braces off!...
02/27/2026

Crystal, Levi's mom, wanted to share a picture of Levi and the orthodontics team from last week. "He got his braces off! Major milestone for us. He is 7 months post surgery and now braces free! He has been with Duke for 15 years. Just a happy day that I wanted to share. The picture is just missing Dr. Levy. Thankfully we saw him the visit before this. We are thankful for Dr. S, Dr. Levy, Tina, Taylor and Hannah " 💙

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2301 Erwin Road
Durham, NC
27710

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Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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