Department of Adult and Pediatric Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery - Catholic Clinic Koblenz-Montabaur

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery at Catholic Clinic Koblenz-Montabaur

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery at the Catholic Clinic Koblenz-Montabaur offers the full range of medical services in the areas of its specialization. The primary focuses of the department's work include the diagnostics and treatment of hearing loss, diseases of the external, middle, and inner ear, and pathologies of the nose, paranasal sinuses, and skull base. The department includes a specialized Head and Neck Cancer Center, certified in accordance with the requirements of the German Society for Haematology and Medical Oncology (DGHO). A special area of clinical practice at the medical facility is cochlear implantation, which is indicated for patients with complex forms of hearing loss. The department also performs interventions for the implantation of partially and fully implantable hearing aids. The department admits not only adults but also young patients with otolaryngologic diseases. The department's doctors have effective conservative and surgical techniques in their arsenal. The health of patients is in the safe hands of a competent team of doctors, consisting of otolaryngologists, audiologists, pediatric audiologists, and speech therapists. The Head Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Jan Maurer.

The department demonstrates excellent results in cochlear implantation, which is carried out at a specialized center. Cochlear implantation is an innovative treatment for adults and young patients with severe sensorineural hearing loss. The essence of the minimally invasive intervention is the implantation of a special electronic device (a cochlear implant), consisting of an internal and external part. The operation is performed under general anesthesia and lasts about 2 hours. Following the operation, the department's patients undergo rehabilitation, including setting up the device and adapting its speech processor so that a person can hear sounds and distinguish them. Rehabilitation is carried out on an outpatient basis.

The department also successfully performs surgical interventions to improve hearing, such as stapedoplasty and tympanoplasty. The first version of the operation involves the replacement of the stapes with a prosthesis using microsurgical techniques, which allows for the restoration of hearing in a patient with otosclerosis. Tympanoplasty is a surgical procedure performed to repair a damaged eardrum. The intervention is performed under general anesthesia; a surgical approach is provided through the external auditory meatus using a special microscope or through a small skin incision in the postauricular area.

An integral part of the work of the department's otolaryngologists is the treatment of head and neck tumors. For this purpose, a certified center operates here, which is certified by the German Society for Haematology and Medical Oncology (DGHO). Patients are treated by experienced doctors who have saved thousands of lives. Interdisciplinary tumor boards are regularly held here to develop an optimal treatment regimen, in which otolaryngologists, oncologists, radiation therapists, radiologists, and other experts take part. Therapy is selected individually. As a rule, the treatment is based on tumor resection surgery. Minimally invasive techniques are preferred whenever possible. After extensive resections,the department's patients are offered reconstructive plastic surgery. In many cases, the treatment process is quite complicated, so patients receive competent psychological care.

It should be noted that the use of advanced equipment, including endoscopes, microscopes, laser systems, intraoperative neuromonitoring devices, and intraoperative navigation systems, contributes to the outstanding success of surgical treatment. All these devices allow doctors to provide patients with the most sparing and safe surgical treatment.

The department's range of diagnostic services includes:

• Diagnostic tests for hearing loss
  • Tone and speech audiometry
  • Conditioned play audiometry
  • Otoacoustic emission test
  • Tympanometry
  • Electrocochleography
  • Brainstem auditory evoked response
  • Audiometry with recording of auditory evoked potentials
  • Hearing aid testing
• Diagnostic tests for balance disorders
  • Balance assessment test
  • Video and electronystagmography
  • Functional testing of the otolith apparatus
  • Vestibular evoked myogenic potential
  • Halmagyi test
  • Posturography
• Diagnostic tests for cranial nerve dysfunction
  • Electromyography (facial nerve and recurrent laryngeal nerve)
  • Smell testing
  • Taste bud testing
• Diagnostic tests for oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal diseases
  • Flexible and rigid endoscopy
  • Ultrasound sonography in modes A and B
  • Video laryngeal stroboscopy
  • Assessment of the vocal cord state
  • Assessment of the swallowing act
• Diagnostic tests for respiratory disorders
  • Sleep screening in a special laboratory (for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea)
  • Rhinomanometry (measurement of air resistance when breathing through the nose)
  • Acoustic rhinometry
  • Allergic tests
• Imaging tests
  • Digital volume tomography
  • Computed tomography (CT)
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Endoscopic examinations
  • Endoscopy of the upper respiratory tract and upper gastrointestinal tract
• Other diagnostic methods

The department offers the following treatment methods:

• Conservative treatment
  • Drug therapy
  • Chemotherapy, antibody therapy, and other treatment methods for head and neck cancers
• Surgical treatment
  • Microsurgical treatment of nasal and paranasal sinus diseases
    • Nasal septum surgery
    • Turbinate surgery
    • Endonasal sinus surgery
    • Functional endoscopic paranasal sinus surgery
    • Microscopic endoscopic paranasal sinus operations
  • Surgical debridement for chronic diseases of the middle and inner ear (for example, inflammation, cholesteatoma, or otosclerosis) and surgical treatment for hearing loss and dizziness
    • Hearing improvement surgery: stapedoplasty and tympanoplasty
    • Cochlear implantation
    • Placement of partially and fully implantable hearing systems (for example, BAHA)
    • Saccotomy, vestibular neurectomy, and sacculotomy (for example, for dizziness and Meniere's disease)
    • Injection of drugs into the tympanic cavity (for example, cortisone or gentamicin)
  • Skull base surgery
    • Surgery for benign tumors (for example, glomus tumors, acoustic neuromas, or juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas)
    • Surgery for malignant tumors (for example, esthesioneuroblastoma or chordoma)
    • Surgery for inflammatory diseases (for example, malignant external otitis or osteomyelitis)
    • Surgery for skull base injuries (for example, skull base reconstruction or dural plastic surgery for liquorrhea)
  • Surgery for benign and malignant tumors in the face, head, and neck
    • Surgery for face and neck skin tumors
    • Surgery for mouth, tongue, and throat tumors
    • Surgery for laryngeal tumors
    • Surgery for nasal and paranasal sinus tumors
    • Surgery for thyroid tumors
  • Facial plastic surgery
    • Plastic reconstructive surgery after head and neck tumor resection – microsurgical tissue transfer: muscle flaps, skin flaps, microvascular anastomoses, and nerve ending reconstruction
    • Aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery on the face, head, and neck
      • Otoplasty
      • Septorhinoplasty
      • Blepharoplasty
      • Eyebrow lift
      • Scar revision
    • Reconstructive surgery after accidents with the plastic repair of soft tissues, skull bones, upper respiratory tract, and upper digestive tract
  • Mediastinoscopic surgery
  • Surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring
    • Radiofrequency diathermy
    • Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
  • Orbital decompression for endocrine ophthalmopathy
• Other treatment methods