Department of General, Abdominal and Transplant Surgery - Hannover Medical School (MHH)

About the Department of General, Abdominal and Transplant Surgery at Hannover Medical School (MHH)

The Department of General, Abdominal and Transplant Surgery at the Hannover Medical School offers the full range of services in these medical fields and provides high-quality treatment for various surgical diseases. The key areas of the department's activities include surgical interventions on the esophagus, stomach, liver, biliary tract, gallbladder, pancreas, small and large intestine, as well as endocrine organs. The department's doctors also specialize in the surgical treatment of hernias. A special place in the clinical practice is given to organ transplantation – liver, kidney and pancreas. The medical facility also successfully uses sparing minimally invasive surgical techniques and the innovative da Vinci surgical system. The department's doctors have long experience and outstanding qualifications, which, in combination with high-tech equipment, can work wonders. The operating rooms correspond to the very latest standards of hygiene and safety, so patients can be sure of a favorable outcome of the surgical treatment. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Jürgen Klempnauer.

The department has state-of-the-art equipment, advanced computer systems, the da Vinci Xi surgical system, surgical technologies for a wide range of minimally invasive interventions, which have many advantages and are more sparing than open interventions.

As of today, robotic interventions are increasingly performed in the department. During the operation, the surgeon is sitting at a special control panel, which he uses to set each surgical manipulation and control the actions of the robot. The image of the surgical field is transmitted to a large screen at multiple zoom, so that the surgeon can clearly see the smallest anatomical structures. The surgical robot is equipped with four slave manipulators, with the help of which the operation is performed. The innovative technology provides more precise movements of tiny instruments in the robot arms, as well as smooth rotation (360°) of the instruments in space. The main advantage of robot-assisted surgery is impeccable precision, due to which damage to healthy tissues and nerve fibers is almost excluded. The department's surgeons perform robotic surgeries for diseases of the gallbladder (removal), gastroesophageal reflux disease, colorectal cancer, diverticular disease, chronic inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease), liver and pancreatic tumors, as well as benign and malignant tumors of the stomach and esophagus.

The department has achieved outstanding results in organ transplantation and is the largest Transplantation Center of this kind in Germany. About 140 liver transplantations, 200 kidney transplantations and 20 pancreas transplantations are performed here every year, which testifies to the high professionalism of the medical team and excellent medical care. At the stages of preparation for transplantation and postoperative care, experienced nephrologists, gastroenterologists, immunologists and other doctors are involved in the therapeutic process. They carry out all the necessary therapeutic measures to provide the patient with successful outcome of the operation and organ engraftment.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Da Vinci robot-assisted surgery
• Esophageal surgery
  • Treatment of esophageal cancer
  • Treatment of benign esophageal tumors
  • Treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease
  • Treatment of Zenker's diverticulum
• Gastric surgery
  • Gastric resection (gastrectomy)
  • Lymphadenectomy
  • Splenectomy and multivisceral interventions (especially in progressive upper stomach tumors, when the tumor affects the entire stomach)
  • Reconstructive interventions after gastrectomy
• Liver surgery
  • Liver resection
  • Liver transplantation
  • Multimodal therapy methods (for example, preoperative chemoembolization with follow-up resection)
  • Atypical liver resection
• Biliary tract and gallbladder surgery
• Pancreatic surgery
• Small and large intestine surgery
  • Treatment of malignant tumors
  • Treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease)
• Minimally invasive surgery
  • Esophageal surgery (malignant and benign esophageal tumors, esophageal diverticulum, achalasia)
  • Gastric surgery (malignant and benign stomach tumors, surgical treatment of reflux disease, diaphragmatic hernia)
  • Large intestine surgery (proctocolectomy, hemicolectomy, sigmoid colon resection) and rectum (anterior rectal resection)
  • Adrenal surgery (adrenalectomy)
  • Liver surgery (liver resection, cyst removal)
  • Abdominal wall surgery (treatment of inguinal, incisional hernias)
  • Laparoscopic appendectomy
  • Diagnostic laparoscopy for histological examination
  • Laparoscopic implantation of feeding tubes
  • Laparoscopic placement of diaphragm stimulators
• Endocrine surgery
  • Thyroid surgery
  • Parathyroid surgery
  • Adrenal surgery
• Hernia repair surgery
• Multivisceral resections
• Transplant surgery (liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation)
• Other types of surgical interventions