Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Hernia Surgery and Bariatric Surgery - Brothers of Mercy Hospital Munich

About the Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Hernia Surgery and Bariatric Surgery at Brothers of Mercy Hospital Munich

The Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Hernia Surgery and Bariatric Surgery at the Brothers of Mercy Hospital Munich provides the full range of surgical treatment in its field of competence. The department's highly qualified surgeons annually perform about 2,000 surgical interventions. Extensive clinical experience allows the specialists to perform even particularly complex operations. The department’s advanced operating rooms serve for surgery to treat gastrointestinal diseases, liver, gallbladder, bile duct, pancreatic, rectal, anal and colon pathologies. The medical facility also successfully performs operations to treat hernias: inguinal, umbilical, and anterior abdominal wall hernias. In addition, the department's doctors deal with the surgical treatment of morbid obesity. Minor traumatic laparoscopic interventions are considered the gold standard, which guarantee a patient minimal risks and rapid postoperative restoration. Surgeons tell the patient in detail about their upcoming treatment and, in every possible way, support them in their recovery. The department is headed by PD Dr. med. Johann Spatz.

The department's general and abdominal surgeons provide the surgical treatment of benign and malignant diseases of all abdominal organs, while the priority is on treating the digestive organs. The specialists most often deal with appendix removal, gallbladder operations, surgical treatment of diverticulitis, soft tissue tumor removal, and abscess drainage. Doctors have exceptional competence in the treatment of abdominal organs. The specialists also perform operations for emergency conditions: perforations of the gastrointestinal organs, intestinal invagination, internal bleeding, acute pancreatitis, etc.

Of particular interest in the field of colorectal surgery is the treatment of bowel and rectal cancer, which is carried out in the certified center of the German Cancer Society. The treatment regimen is usually determined during tumor boards with the participation of surgeons, oncologists, chemotherapists, radiation therapists and other specialists. The surgical resection of a malignant tumor is practically the basis of the treatment regimen in all clinical situations. In most cases, low-traumatic surgical techniques are used, which exclude high risks and severe pain. In addition, patients with metastatic cancer are offered specially developed multimodal treatment regimens.

The main area of ​​work of hepatopancreatobiliary surgeons is operations for benign and malignant liver diseases, pancreas, bile ducts and gallbladder. Surgical treatment is performed using modern minimally invasive and hybrid techniques (combination of laparoscopic and open surgical techniques). In cooperation with specialists in interventional radiology, thermal ablation and embolization can be carried out for liver cancer treatment. The department has the German Cancer Society's certificate in treating liver cancer, which indicates the high competence of doctors and adherence to standards of modern surgery.

The department's surgeons often deal with hernias in their clinical practice. The specialists perform surgical treatment of inguinal, umbilical, and anterior abdominal wall hernias. To repair hernias, the department's surgeons resort to minimally invasive and classic open techniques. Whenever possible, preference is given to the most sparing type of treatment. Sometimes hernia surgery is carried out on an outpatient basis, under local anesthesia. The department's work in hernia repair surgery is marked by a quality certificate from the German Hernia Society. In addition, the surgeons in this area regularly exchange experience with their colleagues from the European Hernia Society, which contributes to achieving the best therapeutic results.

The department also offers bariatric surgery services. The surgeons of this profile perform operations for morbid obesity in patients who cannot get rid of excess weight with diet, physical exercises and drug therapy. Excess weight is not only an aesthetic problem, but also entails many health risks, including the development of diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, and obstructive sleep apnea. The department's bariatric surgeons specialize in sleeve gastroplasty, mini gastric bypass and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The interventions mentioned above are performed using minimally invasive methods. After surgery, the patient is supervised by nutritionists, physiotherapists and psychologists who develop an individual treatment plan to consolidate the results.

The department's surgical options include:

• General and abdominal surgery
  • Emergency surgery
    • Surgery for abdominal perforations, intestinal intussusception, and internal bleeding
    • Surgery for bowel obstruction
    • Surgery for appendicitis
    • Surgery for acute cholecystitis
    • Surgery for acute diverticular disease
  • Elective surgery
    • Surgery for gallstones
    • Surgery for adhesions
    • Surgery for inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)
    • Surgery for chronic diverticular disease
    • Surgery for spleen diseases
    • Surgery for thyroid diseases
    • Surgery for stromal gastrointestinal tumors
    • Surgery for tumors of the abdominal cavity and retroperitoneal space (for example, sarcomas)
    • Surgery for abdominal wall tumors (for example, lipomas and atheromas)
• Colorectal surgery
  • Surgery for bowel cancer
  • Surgery for rectal cancer
  • Surgery for anal cancer
  • Surgery for metastases in the liver and lungs caused by colorectal cancer
• Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery
  • Surgical treatment of liver and bile duct pathologies
    • Surgery for malignant liver tumors and liver metastases caused by other types of oncology
    • Surgery for malignant tumors of the bile ducts and gallbladder cancer
    • Surgery for benign liver tumors and liver cysts
    • Surgery for cholecystitis, cholelithiasis and bile duct cysts
    • Surgery for traumatic lesions and bleeding from the liver and bile ducts
  • Surgical treatment of pancreatic pathologies
    • Surgery for benign and malignant pancreatic tumors, including rare ones
    • Surgery for chronic pancreatitis
    • Surgery for pancreatic duct stenosis caused by cancer, for palliative purposes
• Hernia surgery 
  • Surgery for inguinal hernia
    • Open surgery: Shouldice technique and Lichtenstein operation
    • Minimally invasive surgery: transabdominal preperitoneal hernia repair and totally extraperitoneal laparoscopic hernioplasty
  • Surgery for umbilical hernias
    • Open surgery: Mayo technique
    • Minimum invasive operations: IPOM technique
  • Surgery for anterior abdominal wall hernias
    • Open surgery: Mayo technique
    • Minimum invasive operations: IPOM technique
• Obesity surgery
  • Sleeve gastroplasty
  • Mini gastric bypass
  • Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
• Other medical services