Department of Adult and Pediatric Interventional Radiology - Hannover Medical School (MHH)

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Interventional Radiology at Hannover Medical School (MHH)

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Interventional Radiology at the Hannover Medical School offers the full range of medical services in the area of its ​​specialization. The department's specialists pay due attention to diagnostic imaging and minimally invasive imaging-guided therapeutic procedures. Of particular interest is the therapy of vascular diseases, oncological pathologies and pain therapy. The highly qualified specialists who strictly follow the standardized protocols of professional societies take care of the patients' health. The key to the successful functioning of the medical facility is also the availability of state-of-the-art medical equipment. The department's radiologists have a wealth of experience and thousands of successfully performed therapeutic procedures, thanks to which even complex pathologies can be cured without extensive surgical interventions. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Frank Wacker.

Since accurate diagnostics is the key to successful treatment, the department's doctors carry out various diagnostic imaging tests, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and X-ray examinations. For the diagnostics of cardiac pathologies, the department has a specialized laboratory for cardiac CT and MRI. In addition, the department offers the widest diagnostic options for women with suspected breast cancer. Diagnostic services include mammography, tomosynthesis, galactography, sonography, and various types of image-guided biopsies. Both adults and children can undergo diagnostics in the department. In the second case, diagnostic tests are carried out using special equipment adapted to the specific characteristics of the child's body. The range of procedures includes ultrasound scanning, X-ray diagnostics, including fluorography, CT, MRI and emergency diagnostics. The department's specialists cooperate closely with doctors from all medical fields of the university hospital and carry out imaging examinations in patients with various pathologies.

The department's radiologists also perform image-guided therapeutic interventions. Thanks to state-of-the-art technical equipment and innovative materials (catheters, stents, balloons), the treatment becomes as sparing as possible, but at the same time it is not inferior in efficiency to conventional therapy. Radiological interventions are also performed in children of various age groups. The treatment of vascular pathologies, namely stenoses, occlusions and aneurysms of various localizations, is of particular interest for the specialists of the medical facility. During therapeutic manipulations, the radiologist makes a small skin incision through which a catheter is inserted into the vascular lumen. The catheter is directed to the pathologically altered part of the vessel under image guidance (using ultrasound, CT, MRI, X-ray). The specialist then places a stent, including a drug-coated one, or other implants, eliminating vascular stenosis or obstruction.

The department's medical team also specializes in interventional procedures for the treatment of liver, kidney, lung and bone tumors. Radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation and cryoablation are successfully used for this purpose. The optimal type of ablation is selected for the patient individually, based on the particular clinical data, the stage of cancer, the size and location of the tumor. Depending on the chosen technique, the tumor is either cooled to a temperature below -120 °C, or heated to a temperature above + 100 °C.

The department's experts have special competence in the field of transarterial chemoembolization for the treatment of liver tumors. The technique is a minimally invasive procedure for the targeted injection of an embolic agent into the arteries supplying the liver tumor. The effect of the procedure is enhanced by the injection of chemotherapy drugs directly into the liver tumor or metastatic foci. Chemotherapy drugs act on cancer cells and destroy them. As of today, transarterial chemoembolization is an advanced therapeutic procedure performed only by doctors at leading hospitals in countries with a high level of medicine. It is worth noting that the technique allows the specialists to successfully deal with especially aggressive liver neoplasms, which were previously considered incurable.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Interventional therapy for inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension using pulmonary artery balloon angioplasty
• Prostatic artery embolization
• Interventions on the arteries
  • Restoration of patency of the arteries of the pelvis and lower limbs in stenoses and thromboses
  • Interventions for acute occlusions of the arteries of the pelvis and lower limbs
  • Restoration of patency of intestinal arteries in stenoses and thromboses
  • Restoration of patency of renal arteries in case of stenoses and thromboses
  • Restoration of patency of arteries of other localizations in stenoses and thromboses
  • Treatment of arterial aneurysms
  • Treatment of endoleaks in aneurysms
  • Closure of blood vessels in arterial hemorrhage (embolization)
  • Sclerotherapy for uterine fibroids
• Interventions on the veins
  • Treatment of venous stenoses and thromboses
  • Implantation of filters into the inferior vena cava
  • Sclerotherapy for varicocele
  • Formation of hemodialysis shunts
  • Selective blood sampling from adrenal veins
• Liver interventions
  • Transarterial chemoembolization
  • Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS)
• Placement of port systems to ensure venous access
• Percutaneous tumor ablation
• Other medical services