Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Hernia Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Endocrine Surgery and Bariatric Surgery - Catholic Clinic Koblenz-Montabaur

About the Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Hernia Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Endocrine Surgery and Bariatric Surgery at Catholic Clinic Koblenz-Montabaur

The Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Hernia Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Endocrine Surgery and Bariatric Surgery at the Catholic Clinic Koblenz-Montabaur provides all the options of modern surgical treatment for patients with benign and malignant abdominal diseases, hernias, and diseases of the rectum, thyroid gland, and parathyroid glands. The department includes the Obesity Center, which successfully performs operations on patients with a body mass index of more than 40 kg/m2. Hernia treatment is provided in a specialized Competence Center for Hernia Surgery, certified in accordance with the requirements of the German Hernia Society (DHG) and the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV). It is important for the department's surgical team to provide each patient with the most sparing treatment. The use of minimally invasive and single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is therefore a priority here. Even in complex cases where open surgery cannot be avoided, advanced technologies such as ultrasonic scissors, high-frequency coagulation devices, monitoring systems, and others ensure high treatment safety. The exceptional professionalism and rich experience of the department's surgeons also deserve special attention. The department is headed by Dr. med. Michael Düsseldorf.

The department's abdominal surgeons regularly treat patients with benign and malignant abdominal diseases. Of particular interest is the provision of medical care to patients with stomach, colon, rectal, pancreatic, and soft tissue cancers. When a cancer diagnosis is confirmed, a clinical case is considered at an interdisciplinary tumor board with the participation of surgeons, oncologists, gastroenterologists, and other specialists. A cancer treatment regimen is developed strictly on an individual basis. The department's abdominal surgeons are responsible for performing operations, which in most cases are supplemented with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, and other types of anticancer treatment. The extent of the operation depends on the stage of the oncological process: in the early stages, a malignant neoplasm is often removed, and in the case of advanced cancer, the affected organ is partially or totally removed. Whenever possible, the department's surgeons use low-traumatic laparoscopic techniques that contribute to the rapid recovery of the patient in the postoperative period.

An important focus in the department's clinical practice is hernia treatment. The department has been certified as a Hernia Competence Center by the German Hernia Society (DHG) and the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV). The department's surgeons specialize in the treatment of inguinal, umbilical, incisional, diaphragmatic, and parastomal hernias. The department annually performs 200-300 such operations of varying complexity. The optimal type of surgical intervention is selected taking into account the patient's individual clinical indications and needs. In most cases, surgeons at the medical facility perform hernioplasty using artificial mesh implants. Minimally invasive techniques are used to provide a surgical approach.

Another focus of the department's work is colorectal surgery. The specialists in this field are engaged in the surgical treatment of rectal diseases. The department has successful experience performing operations for hemorrhoids, which are pathological varicose veins with the formation of hemorrhoidal nodes in the lower part of the rectum. The most effective and widely used operation for hemorrhoids in the department is stapled hemorrhoidopexy (the Longo procedure). When performing the intervention, surgeons remove a circular section of the mucous membrane and submucosal tissues with blood vessels, due to which it becomes possible to tighten the hemorrhoidal nodes and deprive them of their blood supply. The lack of blood flow to the hemorrhoidal nodes leads to their gradual disappearance. The Longo procedure is performed under local anesthesia using minimally invasive techniques. Its duration is only 15-20 minutes. After the operation, the patient remains in the hospital for some time under medical supervision, after which, before discharge, he receives the necessary recommendations on nutrition and care of the surgical wound.

In the field of endocrine surgery, special attention is paid to the surgical treatment of diseases of the thyroid gland and parathyroid glands. The department's specialists perform a hemithyroidectomy (removal of a lobe of the thyroid gland) and a thyroidectomy (total removal of the thyroid gland). Operations of this kind are performed using minimally invasive techniques, due to which the patient experiences practically no pain in the postoperative period and the risks of developing postoperative complications are negligible. In addition, minimally invasive techniques ensure good aesthetic results, as hardly noticeable scars remain. An important point is the use of a modern intraoperative neuromonitoring system during thyroid surgery. Such an approach guarantees preservation of the integrity of the recurrent laryngeal nerves, damage to which may lead to voice loss.

The department also has a specialized Obesity Center, certified in accordance with the requirements of DIN EN ISO 9001:2008 standards and the standards of the German Society of Surgery and the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery. Morbid obesity is becoming more common in the world every year, and in many cases, overweight patients cannot get rid of excess weight using conservative methods such as diet therapy, sports, or drugs. In such cases, bariatric surgery is the only option. The department successfully performs sleeve gastroplasty, gastric bypass surgery, and gastric banding. The goal of all these surgical procedures is to reduce the volume of the stomach so that satiety is achieved with less food consumed, resulting in weight loss. For patients undergoing bariatric surgery, it is important to understand that after the surgical intervention, it will be necessary to adhere to a diet and exercise regularly because only a comprehensive approach will save the result of surgical treatment.

The department's range of surgical services includes:

• General and abdominal surgery
  • Surgery for benign abdominal diseases
    • Laparoscopic appendectomy
    • Laparoscopic cholecystectomy
    • Laparoscopic colon resection for diverticulitis
    • Laparoscopic removal of adhesions (adhesiolysis)
    • Urgent surgical interventions for acute abdominal diseases
  • Surgery for malignant abdominal diseases
    • Laparoscopic and open surgery for stomach cancer
    • Laparoscopic and open surgery for colon cancer
    • Laparoscopic and open surgery for rectal cancer
    • Laparoscopic and open surgery for pancreatic cancer
    • Laparoscopic and open surgery for soft tissue sarcomas
• Hernia surgery
  • Laparoscopic hernioplasty with mesh implantation for inguinal, umbilical, incisional, diaphragmatic, and parastomal hernias
• Colorectal surgery
  • Minimally invasive operations for hemorrhoids, including the Longo procedure
  • Minimally invasive surgery for rectal prolapse
  • Minimally invasive surgery for anal and rectal fistulas
• Endocrine surgery
  • Minimally invasive hemithyroidectomy (removal of a lobe of the thyroid gland)
  • Minimally invasive thyroidectomy (total removal of the thyroid gland)
  • Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (removal of the parathyroid glands)
• Bariatric surgery
  • Sleeve gastroplasty
  • Gastric bypass surgery
  • Gastric banding
• Other medical services

Photo of the doctor: (c) Katholisches Klinikum Koblenz - Montabaur