Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Cardiology, Nephrology and Pulmonology - Marien Hospital Duesseldorf

About the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Cardiology, Nephrology and Pulmonology at Marien Hospital Duesseldorf

The Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Cardiology, Nephrology and Pulmonology at the Marien Hospital Duesseldorf offers all the options of modern diagnostics and treatment in the areas of its specialization. The team of doctors of the medical facility admits patients with various pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and liver, pathologies of the cardiovascular system, kidneys, lungs and respiratory tract. The department provides both inpatient and outpatient medical care. The department has 96 beds, 10 of which are for patients who need intensive care. The medical facility has modern diagnostic rooms, as well as well-equipped rooms for endoscopic interventions. Special attention should be given to the high professionalism of doctors and nursing staff: each patient receives the most effective treatment that meets his needs and wishes. The Head Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Reinhard Lüthen.

An integral part of the department's clinical practice is the prevention, diagnostics and treatment of gastroenterological diseases. Patients with pathologies of the stomach, esophagus, pancreas, small and large intestines receive medical care here. The department also provides therapy for liver, gallbladder and bile duct diseases. Of particular interest to the department's doctors is the treatment of inflammatory and malignant gastrointestinal diseases. In many cases, the specialists manage to cure the pathology with the help of modern drugs, but they often have to resort to endoscopic procedures. Endoscopic tests are used to examine the digestive system from the inside, which allows the doctors to make the most accurate diagnosis. Endoscopy is also widely used for therapeutic purposes, namely for the treatment of internal bleeding, stenosis, early-stage tumors, etc. The department's specialists have long successful experience in the field of endoscopic procedures, so patients can count on high efficiency and safety.

The department's competence also includes invasive and non-invasive diagnostics, conservative and invasive treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The department has excellent diagnostic options for examining the cardiovascular system, including resting and stress ECG, 24-hour ECG recording, 24-hour blood pressure monitoring, stress echocardiography, and cardiac catheterization. Once the comprehensive diagnostics is completed, the attending physician determines further treatment tactics: drug therapy and/or interventional cardiac catheterization. In the field of catheter-based therapy for heart pathologies, the most common procedures include the implantation of single- and dual-chamber pacemakers for arrhythmia treatment.

The focus of nephrologists is on patients suffering from kidney diseases. During the diagnostics for suspected nephrological disease, doctors use various laboratory tests, special ultrasound scans, kidney punctures, and other diagnostic procedures. The first-line treatment is usually drug therapy with the most advanced medications. If such an approach does not give satisfactory results and there is a further deterioration in the patient's health condition, the department's specialists resort to renal replacement therapy (dialysis). Dialysis is carried out in a special center designed to receive 8 patients at a time. More than 3,500 dialysis procedures are performed here annually, which is a confirmation of the high competence of the specialists in this medical field. In addition, the medical facility has special equipment for renal replacement therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis B and C. The department offers three types of dialysis: hemodialysis, hemofiltration and hemodiafiltration.

The department's therapeutic offer is complemented by the diagnostics and treatment of pulmonary diseases. The most common diagnoses in the work of the department's medical staff are obstructive pulmonary disease (chronic bronchitis and bronchial asthma), pulmonary emphysema, lung cancer, infectious diseases of the lungs and pleura. Whenever possible, doctors use only drug therapy, but if necessary, they also successfully perform various endoscopic procedures. Therapeutic bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolar lavage, drainage, pleurodesis, and other interventional procedures are often performed here.

The department's main clinical activities include:

• Diagnostics and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases: diseases of the stomach, esophagus, small and large intestines, pancreas
• Diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts: hepatitis, cirrhosis, biliary obstruction, gallbladder inflammation 
• Diagnostics and treatment of cardiovascular diseases: coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathies, arrhythmias, hypertension
• Diagnostics and treatment of kidney diseases: kidney stone disease, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis
• Diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract: chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, pulmonary emphysema, infectious lung diseases, lung cancer
• Diagnostics and treatment of other diseases

The department's range of therapeutic services includes the following options:

• Drug therapy
• Intensive care 
• Renal replacement therapy
  • Hemodialysis
  • Hemofiltration
  • Hemodiafiltration
• Endoscopic procedures
  • Gastroscopy and colonoscopy to eliminate stenosis, stop internal bleeding
  • Enteroscopy
  • Endoscopic examination of the bile ducts with the follow-up stone removal 
  • Puncture and drainage under endoscopic ultrasound guidance
  • Bile duct drainage for benign and malignant neoplasms
  • Placement of feeding tubes (PEG/PEJ)
  • Bronchoscopy and videobronchoscopy
  • Bronchoalveolar lavage
  • Placement of a chest tube
  • Pleurodesis
• Other treatment methods