google_counter
Department of Nephrology | Treatment in Hospital Cologne-Merheim | Departments. Germany | BookingHealth
{"translation_price":"50","translation_doc_price":"40","child_coefficient":"1.1","transfer_price":"2.00","transfer_price_vip":"5.00","constant_transfer_price_vip":350,"constant_transfer_price":150,"constant_transfer_distanse":60,"type":"department","only_for_children":null,"no_service":null,"with_prepayment":null,"show_calculator":null,"paket_type":null,"btn_type":null,"clinic_icon":"60001d9fe846d.jpg","city":"Cologne","clinic_site":"http:\/\/www.kliniken-koeln.de\/Krankenhaus_Merheim_Startseite.htm?ActiveID=1031","department_recommend":"0","country":"Germany","country_id":"1","clinic_name":"Hospital Cologne-Merheim","cinic_name":"Hospital Cologne-Merheim","department_id":"1589","duration":null,"direction":null,"min_duration":0,"clinic_id":"1236","paketPrice":850,"bh_fee":0,"paket":"<ul>\n <li>Interpreter up to 3 hours<\/li>\n <li>Translation of 2 pages<\/li>\n<\/ul>","title":"Department of Nephrology","price":{"val":null,"type":"val"},"price_surcharge":0,"price_surcharge_clear":0,"extra_service_clinic":[{"id":"need_to_use_head_doctor","title":"Treatment by leading experts","type":"val","val":0,"req":0},{"id":"1_person_room","title":" Single room (whole period)","parent":"duration","type":"count_val","val":"130.00"},{"id":"2_person_room","title":" double room (whole period)","parent":"duration","type":"count_val","val":"90.00"},{"id":"attendant_place","title":"Accommodation for the accompanying person ","parent":"duration","type":"count_val","val":"90.00"}],"extra_service":[],"translation_hours":null,"translation_doc_count":null,"roads":[{"id":"7","distance":"13","airport_title":"Cologne-Bonn"},{"id":"4","distance":"66","airport_title":"Duesseldorf"},{"id":"25","distance":"96","airport_title":"Dortmund Airport"}],"pakets":[],"lang":{"day":"Day","days":"days","ambulatory":"Outpatient","stationaryProgram":"Inpatient"}}

Department of Nephrology - Hospital Cologne-Merheim

Hospital Cologne-Merheim

Cologne, Germany
Department id # 274436
Doctor photo
Prof. Dr. med. Achim Jörres
Department of Nephrology
Specialized in: nephrology

About the Department of Nephrology at Hospital Cologne-Merheim

The Department of Nephrology at the Hospital Cologne-Merheim provides diagnostics and treatment for the full range of kidney diseases, including kidney lesions due to arterial hypertension and systemic autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Wegener's granulomatosis, Goodpasture syndrome, and others. The department's specialists conduct all types of renal replacement therapy (dialysis) for patients with acute and chronic kidney failure. The department has 80 beds for inpatients and also houses specialized outpatient clinics. The department's kidney transplant program involves close cooperation with the Transplant Center Cologne, which, in turn, cooperates with the University Hospital Cologne. The center is one of the largest German medical facilities where kidney transplant surgery is actively performed. Nephrologists are responsible for the care of patients before and after kidney transplant surgery, while specialized surgeons are in charge of the kidney transplant itself. The department's patients undergo intensive therapy in a modern specialized unit whenever required. The highly competent team of doctors takes care of the patients' health. The specialists have all the necessary resources to provide patients with effective treatment in a comfortable environment. The Head Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Achim Jörres.

The department has been the Center of Excellence for Kidney Disease in the Cologne region for many years. The department treats more than 2,500 inpatients with acute and chronic kidney diseases every year, with approximately half of the cases involving acute or chronic kidney failure. The department's medical team is proud of its successful experience in treating both primary kidney diseases (for example, glomerulonephritis or pyelonephritis) and secondary kidney diseases (for example, diabetic nephropathy or toxic nephropathies). In addition, the doctors specialize in the treatment of rare kidney diseases, such as hereditary nephropathies (Alport syndrome or autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease), vasculitis (Goodpasture syndrome or Wegener's granulomatosis), lupus nephritis, and nephropathy caused by hantavirus infection. A treatment regimen is developed taking into account the diagnosis, specificities of the pathology, severity of its course, the patient's general health condition, and other factors. In many cases, the first-line treatment is drug therapy with various groups of drugs in combination with a diet. In more complex cases, dialysis may be required, and the last-line treatment is a kidney transplant.

The department has been providing renal replacement therapy since 1996, maintaining consistently high-quality medical services in this field. Dialysis procedures are carried out in a modern unit with 24 beds. Approximately 10,000 dialysis procedures are performed here every year, including about 2,000 for critically ill patients in intensive care units. Patients with infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B and staphylococcus aureus infection, undergo dialysis in an isolated room.

The department's nephrologists also specialize in caring for patients before and after kidney transplant surgery. When providing medical care to patients who require kidney transplant surgery, the department's doctors cooperate closely with transplant surgeons, who perform about 70 kidney transplants annually. The specialists from the Institute for Transfusion Medicine are involved in immunological tests required for transplant preparation. The final decision on the advisability of kidney transplant surgery is made during interdisciplinary boards, considering comprehensive diagnostic results, including laboratory tests, ultrasound scans, imaging tests, heart function assessments, pulmonary function tests, etc. During the donor search phase, compatibility tests are also performed to avoid rejection of the transplanted organ. Following kidney transplant surgery, the patient spends several days in the intensive care unit under constant medical supervision. Subsequently, the patient is transferred to a regular ward and receives the necessary drug therapy, in particular immunosuppressive therapy, antibiotics, antiviral drugs, painkillers, etc. Prior to discharge from the hospital, the patient receives recommendations on further drug therapy, diet, physical activity, and the cessation of bad habits.

The department's main therapeutic options include:

  • Drug therapy
  • Renal replacement therapy (dialysis)
    • Hemodialysis
    • Peritoneal dialysis
    • Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration
    • Plasmapheresis
    • Immunoadsorption
    • Hemoperfusion
    • High-flow hemodialysis
    • Permanent ambulatory peritoneal dialysis
  • Dialysis access formation (in cooperation with surgeons)
    • Permanent dialysis catheter placement
    • Duplex ultrasonography as preoperative diagnostics and assessment of shunt patency
    • Angiography to assess the state of the great blood vessels
    • Balloon dilatation and stent implantation for dialysis shunt stenosis
  • Comprehensive preparation for kidney transplant surgery and postoperative care
  • Intensive care for patients with kidney diseases
  • Other medical services

Curriculum vitae

Prof. Dr. med. Achim Jörres graduated from the Free University of Berlin. After his graduation, he worked as a Research Fellow. In 1989, the doctor defended his thesis, and in 1997 he had his habilitation in Internal Medicine at the Charite Faculty of Medicine. He worked as a Senior Physician in the Department of Nephrology at the Charite University Hospital Berlin. In 2003, he was appointed as Professor for Nephrology and Renal Replacement Therapy at Charite, and a year later, he was appointed as a Managing Senior Physician and Deputy Head of the Department of Nephrology in Charite. From 2009 to 2016, Prof. Achim Jörres worked as Acting Head of the Department of Nephrology at the Charite University Hospital Berlin. Since April 2016, the doctor has been heading the Department of Nephrology at the Hospital Cologne-Merheim.

Photo of the doctor: (c) Kliniken der Stadt Köln gGmbH