Department of Vascular and Thoracic Surgery - Municipal Hospital Karlsruhe

About the Department of Vascular and Thoracic Surgery at Municipal Hospital Karlsruhe

The Department of Vascular and Thoracic Surgery at the Municipal Hospital Karlsruhe performs all modern surgical interventions to treat diseases of the vascular system and organs of the respiratory system. In vascular surgery, special attention is paid to the treatment of atherosclerosis, carotid stenosis, deep vein thrombosis, varicose veins, abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms, acute and chronic aortic occlusions, diabetic foot syndrome and other pathologies. The department's team of thoracic surgeons demonstrates excellent results in the surgical treatment of diseases of the lungs and mediastinum, including lung cancer and lung metastases. The department has 30 beds for the hospitalization of its patients, including additional beds in the Intensive Care Unit. The department's doctors rarely resort to open interventions, instead preferring sparing endovascular methods, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and laser surgical techniques. As a result, the department's patients receive high-quality medical care that meets modern international standards, while doctors always take into account the individual needs and wishes of their patients. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Martin Storck.

In vascular surgery, patients are offered all modern endovascular interventions, while open surgeries are performed only in the most complex clinical cases. The priority clinical focuses of the department's work include endovascular treatment of abdominal and thoracic aneurysms, multimodal therapy for obliterating endarteritis, shunting, endovenous surgery for varicose veins, and operations on the carotid arteries. Doctors have vast clinical experience in the surgical treatment of aortic diseases, as they perform about 70 operations for aortic aneurysms annually. In close cooperation with the Department of Neurology and the Stroke Unit, the department's surgeons provide effective medical care to patients with pathologies of the carotid arteries. In addition, the department is a certified Competence Center for Chronic Wounds (Wundkompetenznetz Mittlerer Oberrhein). The therapeutic options also include conservative and surgical treatment of venous diseases, particularly varicose veins, acute thrombosis and venous ulcers.

The specialists in the field of thoracic surgery deal with the treatment of lung cancer, pleural and thoracic wall tumors, and lung metastases. After a comprehensive examination, a patient's clinical case is considered at a regular interdisciplinary tumor board. The treatment is carried out in cooperation with the experts from the Cancer Center Karlsruhe, the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, and the Department of Nuclear Medicine. An interdisciplinary collaboration contributes to the department's opportunities to offer its patients innovative treatment methods. These include radiofrequency ablation, transarterial chemoembolization and selective internal radiation therapy.

The therapeutic options in thoracic surgery include not only cancer treatment. The department's specialists also treat pneumothorax (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) and chronic pleurisy (placement of the PleurX drainage system). In addition, the department's doctors specialize in bronchoscopy (in cooperation with the Department of Pulmonology) and open lung resection, including laser resection.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Vascular surgery
  • Surgical treatment of arterial diseases
    • Surgical procedures and interventional procedures on the carotid arteries
    • Surgical interventions for diseases of the supra-aortic arteries
    • Surgical interventions for vascular diseases of the upper limbs: Raynaud's syndrome and aneurysms
    • Endovascular and open interventions for thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms
    • Dissection of the thoracic and abdominal aorta
    • Surgical interventions for diseases of the arteries of the abdominal cavity
    • Surgical interventions for atherosclerotic lesions of the vessels of the pelvis, thigh and lower leg
    • Shunting of peripheral arteries
    • Emergency care for shunt occlusions and peripheral arterial embolism
    • Surgical interventions for vascular injuries, including pseudoaneurysms
    • Treatment of diabetic foot syndrome (in collaboration with endocrinologists)
    • Septic vascular surgery, for example, for infection of implants or other types of infectious lesions
    • Surgical interventions for leg ulcers 
  • Surgical treatment of venous diseases
    • Treatment of varicose veins: classical procedures, foam sclerotherapy, mini-phlebectomy, and radiofrequency ablation
    • Treatment of venous ulcers: conditioning and a sieve graft
    • Interventional / combined endovascular therapy for acute venous thrombosis
• Thoracic surgery
  • Surgical treatment of lung and mediastinal diseases
    • Standard resection interventions, including bronchoplasty procedures
    • Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery
    • Drainage for pulmonary empyema (under CT guidance, if required)
    • Treatment of pneumothorax (drainage or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery)
    • Treatment of pleurisy (PleurX system and talc pleurodesis)
• Other medical services