The program includes:
- Initial presentation in the clinic
- clinical history taking
- physical examination
- review of medical records
- laboratory tests:
- complete blood count
- general urine analysis
- biochemical analysis of blood
- TSH-basal, fT3, fT4
- tumor markers
- indicators of inflammation
- indicators blood coagulation
- CT/MRI of the abdomen and chest
- ultrasound/ x-ray examination
- conduct endo-sonography of bronchi
- bronchoscopy with biopsy of bronchi and lungs
- histological/ cytological research
- preoperative care
- segmental resection of the lung
- histologically and immunohistochemically examination
of the remote tissues - symptomatic treatment
- control examinations
- the cost of essential medicines and materials
- nursing services
- full hospital accommodation
- explanation of future recommendations
Required documents
- Medical records
- MRI/CT scan (not older than 3 months)
- Biopsy results (if available)
Service
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About the department
The Department of Thoracic Surgery and Lung Cancer Surgery at the Evangelical Lung Hospital Berlin offers the full range of surgical treatment of diseases of the thoracic organs, including interventions on the respiratory tract, lungs, mediastinal organs and thoracic wall. If possible, surgical interventions are performed using sparing minimally invasive techniques, which guarantee the patient a speedy postoperative recovery. The department has the status of the Competence Center for Thoracic Surgery. The work of the department's team of surgeons is based on current clinical protocols, strict adherence to all standards of hygiene and safety, as well as the use of innovative surgical techniques.
The department is headed by Dr. med. Gunda Leschber. According to the Focus magazine, the specialist has been ranked among the top German thoracic surgeons for many years.
The department annually performs more than 1,000 operations of varying complexity, while the success rates of surgical treatment are at the highest level. Not only thoracic surgeons are involved in the therapeutic process, but also the specialists in the field of general surgery, cardiac surgery, anesthesiology and intensive care. The department's team of surgeons specializes in the surgical treatment of lung cancer and malignancies of other thoracic organs, laser thoracic surgery to remove metastases in the lungs, correction of pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum, tracheal surgery, and lung volume reduction surgery.
The treatment of lung cancer and metastatic lung lesion is of particular interest to the department's team of doctors. Prior to a lung tumor resection, a patient undergoes comprehensive diagnostics, which allows the doctors to assess the advisability of the operation. The treatment regimen for each patient is elaborated in the course of interdisciplinary tumor boards with the participation of thoracic surgeons, pulmonologists, oncologists, radiation therapists, radiologists, specialists in palliative care. The patients with early stages of lung cancer undergo sparing minimally invasive interventions, which exclude long-term postoperative rehabilitation. In the case of a videothoracoscopic surgical intervention, surgical access is provided through 2-3 skin incisions, through which a miniature camera and special surgical instruments are inserted. Thus, the patient does not need to open the chest, which significantly simplifies the operation to remove the lung tumor. The department's specialists have been performing such interventions for more than 20 years, therefore they have an impressive clinical experience, which contributes to the best treatment results. In the case of advanced stages of cancer, the surgeons resort to more radical operations, during which the lobe or segment of the lung affected by the oncological process is resected. To remove lung metastases, the department successfully uses laser surgery. The high precision of the laser systems used in the department allows the resection of metastases with high efficiency and without affecting adjacent healthy tissues.
In addition, the department successfully performs interventions for the treatment of inflammatory and benign diseases (for example, pleural empyema or pneumothorax), diagnostic interventions for unclear changes and fibrosing interstitial lung diseases, as well as surgeries on the thoracic wall, mediastinal organs and respiratory tract. If necessary, a heart-lung machine is used during the operations.
The department specializes in the surgical treatment of the following pathologies:
- Lung cancer, including lung metastasis
- Bronchiectasis (pathological widening of the bronchi with a change in the structure of their walls)
- Hemothorax (accumulation of blood in the pleural cavity)
- Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating)
- Pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum
- Local relapses of thoracic wall tumors (for example, in breast cancer)
- Emphysema
- Mediastinal tumors
- Mediastinitis
- Osteomyelitis (purulent bone inflammation, for example, ribs)
- Fungal diseases of the lungs (for example, aspergillosis)
- Pleural effusion (fluid accumulation in the pleural cavity)
- Pleural carcinosis (spread of tumor cells in the pleura)
- Pleural empyema (purulent pleural inflammation)
- Pneumothorax (air penetration into the pleural cavity)
- Tuberculoma
- Divergence of the sternum (for example, after heart surgery)
- Thymoma (thymus tumor)
- Tracheal stenosis
- Tracheomalacia
- Tuberculosis
- Tumors of unknown origin (for example, benign tumors of the lungs, mediastinal organs and thorax)
- Diaphragmal diseases (for example, plication of the diaphragm during its relaxation)
- Bronchial or pericardial cysts
- Other diseases
The department's surgical service range includes:
- Lung cancer surgery, including using minimally invasive techniques
- Lobectomy (removal of a lobe of a lung)
- Pneumonectomy (total removal of the lung)
- Sleeve lung resection
- Sleeve pneumonectomy
- Lung segmental resection
- Pleuropneumonectomy
- Palliative lung decortication
- Laser surgery for metastases
- Surgery to remove tumors of the mediastinum, thoracic wall and trachea
- Minimally invasive thoracic surgery (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery)
- Minimally invasive surgery for pneumothorax
- Minimally invasive diagnostic procedures for the detection of unclear foci of tuberculosis, interstitial lung diseases, etc.
- Minimally invasive lobectomy (removal of a lobe of the lung) in early stages of lung cancer
- Minimally invasive lung volume reduction surgery for pulmonary emphysema
- Minimally invasive surgery for lung metastases
- Nuss procedure to correct pectus excavatum
- Minimally invasive surgery to remove mediastinal neoplasms and cysts
- Minimally invasive decortication of the lung
- Minimally invasive procedures for pleural empyema
- Minimally invasive interventions for hemothorax
- Minimally invasive interventions for hyperhidrosis
- Tracheal surgery
- Correction of pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum
- Other surgical options
Curriculum vitae
Education
- 1996 Board certification in Thoracic Surgery.
- 1993 Board certification in Surgery.
- 1985 Doctorate on "Experimental animal studies on the influence of the testicular function through estrogens and aromatase inhibitors".
- 1985 Foreign Medical Graduate Examination of Medical Science.
- 1984 Admission to medical practice.
- 1980 - 1981 Studies at the Faculté de Médecine de Tours.
- 1977 - 1984 Studies of Human Medicine, Free University of Berlin.
Professional Career
- Since 2003 Chief Physician of the Department of Thoracic Surgery and Lung Cancer Surgery, Evangelical Lung Hospital Berlin.
- 1997 - 2003 Leading Senior Physician, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lung Hospital Hemer.
- 1994 - 1997 Assistant Physician, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lung Hospital Heckeshorn, Berlin.
- 1988 - 1994 Assistant Physician in Surgery, University of Duesseldorf and St. Gertrauden Hospital Berlin.
- 1987 - 1988 Research Fellow, Veterans Administration Hospital, Boston, USA.
- 1986-1987 Surgical Resident, Tufts University, Boston, USA.
- 1986 - 1985 Assistant Physician, Institute of Pathology, Municipal Hospital Berlin-Neukölln.
Other Activities and Additional Qualifications
- Since 2003 Permission to carry out medical specialist training in surgery.
- Since 2003 Permission to carry out additional further training in thoracic surgery.
Awards
- 2015 Wolfgang-Müller-Osten-Medaille (the highest professional awards of the Professional Association of German Surgeons (BDC)).
Memberships (elective or appointed)
- 2015 - 2017 President of the German Society for Thoracic Surgery (DGT).
- 2010 - 2011 President of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS).
- 2012 - 2013 Director of External Relations of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS).
- Since 2005 Board Member of the German Society of Thoracic Surgery.
- Since 2007 Member of the Presiding Board of the Professional Association of German Surgeons.
- Since 2012 Member of the International Advisory Committee der AATS.
- Since 2010 Member of the Presiding Board of the Cancer Center Berlin.
- Since 2007 Vice Chairwoman of the Cancer Center Berlin-Buch.
- 2006 - 2009 Spokesperson of the Section "Women in Thoracic Surgery" of the German Society of Thoracic Surgery.
Further Memberships
- German Society of Thoracic Surgery (DGT).
- European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS).
- American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (AATS).
- Women in Thoracic Surgery of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), USA (WTS).
- Professional Association of German Surgeons (BDC).
- German Society of Surgery (DGCH).
- German Cancer Society.
- Berlin Cancer Society.
- German Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
- Berlin Surgical Society.
- Berlin-Brandenburg Society of Pulmonology.
- German Medical Women's Association.
- Marburger Bund.
Photo of the doctor: (c) Evangelischen Lungenklinik Berlin
About hospital
The Evangelical Lung Hospital Berlin ranks among 10 largest highly specialized medical facilities in Germany for the treatment of lung diseases of varying severity. The medical complex is a well-known specialized hospital for the treatment of acute and chronic diseases of the lungs and other thoracic organs. The hospital was founded in 1952 and is an academic medical facility at the Charite University Hospital Berlin. It also closely collaborates with the Tumor Center Berlin-Buch. The hospital's medical team annually treats more than 6,530 inpatients and 10,669 outpatients. Patient satisfaction with the quality of medical care is confirmed by a bronze award from eKomi, which is the largest independent portal in Europe for the collection of reliable reviews.
The hospital is the Competence Center for Thoracic Surgery, the certified Lung Cancer Center, as well as the accredited Somnology Center and the Wening Center. Another priority field is the comprehensive palliative care for patients with incurable pulmonological pathologies. The specially trained doctors, medical staff and experts in the field of psycho-oncology and physiotherapy, as well as social workers make every effort to ensure the highest possible quality of life for severely ill patients.
Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art medical equipment, the outstanding experience of doctors, competent care and an individual approach to each clinical case, the hospital regularly demonstrates the highest rates of treatment success. The excellent level of treatment quality is confirmed by the DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 certificate.
Since its foundation, the hospital has been actively researching and developing new treatment methods. The active participation and success in the training of medical workers and clinical research still testify to this tradition. The doctors of the hospital carry out research projects in national and international groups and regularly publish the results. All this contributes to the implementation of innovative developments into clinical practice, which help to save human lives.
The basis of medical care in the hospital is a human attitude to each patient. During detailed consultations, the patients and their relatives receive all the information about each stage of treatment, discuss possible alternative treatment options and the predicted result. The personal needs and wishes of the patient are always taken into account.
Photo: (c) depositphotos
Accommodation in hospital
Patients rooms
The patients of the Evangelical Lung Hospital Berlin live in comfortable rooms made in bright colors. The room includes an automatically adjustable bed, a bedside table, a wardrobe for clothes, a table and chairs for receiving visitors, a safe, a telephone, a TV and a radio. Internet is available at extra cost.
Meals and Menus
The hospital offers a varied diet. During registration at the hospital you will receive a menu for a week, so you can choose breakfast, lunch and dinner to your taste or make an individual meal plan. The daily menu also includes vegetarian meals.
Further details
Standard rooms include:
Religion
The religious services can be provided upon request.
Accompanying person
During the inpatient program, an accompanying person may stay with the patient in the room or at a hotel. Our managers will help you choose the most suitable option.
Hotel
During the outpatient program, the patient may stay at the hotel. Our managers will help you choose the most suitable option.