Nuclear medium modifications to the deuteron-nucleus folded potential are discussed using a density-dependent effective interaction derived from Brueckner-Hartree-Fock calculations of the optical model potential in nuclear matter. The medium effects generate central and T_R type tensor potentials which are found to improve the agreement with differential cross section data for the ²⁰⁸Pb(d, d)²⁰⁸Pb reaction at 56 MeV.