The program includes:
- Initial presentation in the clinic
- clinical history taking
- review of medical records
- physical examination
- laboratory tests:
- complete blood count
- biochemical blood test
- inflammation markers (CRP, ESR)
- blood coagulation analysis (aPTT, PT, INR)
- ultrasound of the abdomen
- gastroscopy
- nursing services
- consultation of related specialists
- treatment by chief physician and all leading experts
- explanation of individual treatment plan
Required documents
- Medical records
- Fibrogastroduodenoscopy (FGDS) (if available)
Service
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About the department
The Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology at the Hannover Medical School offers the full range of services in these medical fields. The department specializes in both diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, endocrine glands, metabolic disorders and diabetes mellitus. Special attention is paid to the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers: esophageal, stomach and bowel tumors, neuroendocrine tumors, liver and bile duct tumors. The department has state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment for high-precision examinations, including endoscopic devices. Medical care is provided both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. The patients' health is in the safe hands of a competent team of doctors with an impressive clinical experience and excellent treatment results. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Heiner Wedemeyer.
The department's gastroenterologists carry out comprehensive examinations of the digestive system, including functional and endoscopic tests. The department most often admits patients with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), gastritis, stomach ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease, diverticular disease, bowel and stomach polyps, internal haemorrhage, bowel obstruction and other pathologies. In most cases, doctors use carefully thought out drug regimens for treatment. They are often supplemented with diet therapy. Sometimes endoscopic therapeutic procedures are required, for example, to remove polyps, stop intragastric hemorrhage, and eliminate stenoses in the organs of the digestive system.
Particular attention is paid to gastrointestinal oncology, namely the treatment of tumors of the esophagus, stomach and bowel, neuroendocrine tumors, tumors of the liver and bile ducts. Both diagnostics and treatment of patients with such diseases is carried out in close cooperation with oncologists, radiologists, radiation therapists, chemotherapists, general and abdominal surgeons. The department's specialists believe that only the development of the most effective and sparing treatment regimen will allow the patient to get rid of cancer, and therefore they regularly hold interdisciplinary tumor boards. Small tumors at the early stages are removed using endoscopic techniques, while surgical procedures for advanced gastrointestinal cancers are performed in the Department of General and Abdominal Surgery. After cancer treatment, patients are strongly encouraged to undergo regular follow-up examinations to prevent or early detect recurrence.
The team of the department's doctors is deservedly proud of their excellent results in the treatment of liver diseases. They most often deal with the treatment of autoimmune liver diseases (primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, autoimmune hepatitis), vascular lesions of the liver (Budd–Chiari syndrome, Osler–Weber–Rendu syndrome), infectious liver diseases (viral hepatitis), as well as metabolic liver disorders. The specialists also have sufficient experience in the treatment of rare liver pathologies: porphyria, hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, etc. The range of services in the field of hepatology is complemented by the provision of medical care for patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension, as well as their complications.
In addition, the department employs competent endocrinologists whose task is to detect and treat diseases of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands and adrenal glands, as well as male and female hypogonadism. The medical facility provides the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The therapeutic options in this field include drug therapy using hypoglycemic drugs, insulin therapy, lifestyle modification, including adherence to diet, avoidance of unhealthy habits, etc. The department's medical team develops comprehensive treatment programs individually for each patient. The specialists in the field of endocrine, abdominal, transplant surgery and nuclear medicine can be involved in the treatment process. As a rule, the examination is carried out on an outpatient basis, and the treatment can be carried out on an outpatient or inpatient basis, depending on the complexity of the clinical case.
The department's main clinical focuses include:
- Diagnostic services
- Ultrasound diagnostics
- Native sonography and color Doppler sonography
- Rectal endosonography
- Contrast-enhanced ultrasound scanning (also using radiofrequency techniques)
- Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy
- Duplex sonography
- Ultrasound elastography
- Innovative methods of ultrasound diagnostics (3D, 4D techniques)
- Endoscopic diagnostics
- Gastroscopy
- Colonoscopy
- Rectoscopy
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
- Percutaneous liver biopsy
- Transjugular liver biopsy
- Endosonography
- Capsule endoscopy
- Balloon-assisted enteroscopy
- Functional diagnostics (intragastric pH-metry, esophageal manometry, anorectal manometry)
- Ultrasound diagnostics
- Therapeutic services
- Ultrasound therapy
- Ultrasound-guided removal of pathological fluid accumulations (for example, abscess, ascites, pleurisy): puncture, drainage, flushing, instillation of antibiotics
- Ultrasound-guided removal of liver, kidney and spleen cysts (sclerotherapy, puncture, washing)
- Ultrasound-guided removal of neoplasms (radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation)
- Endoscopic therapy
- Colonoscopy with polypectomy
- Elimination of stenoses and obstructions in the gastrointestinal organs using bougienage and balloon dilation
- Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy
- Percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy
- Removal of large polyps with endoscopic mucosal resection
- Endoscopic treatment of achalasia cardia
- Endoscopic treatment of Zenker's diverticulum
- Endoscopic treatment of Barrett's esophagus
- Cholangioscopy for the treatment of bile duct stenosis and obstruction
- Radiofrequency ablation for bile duct tumors
- Biliary stent placement
- Drainage of pseudocysts and necrectomy (therapy for severe forms of pancreatitis)
- Minilaparoscopy
- Ultrasound therapy
- Other medical services
Curriculum vitae
Prof. Dr. med. Heiner Wedemeyer received his medical education at the University of Goettingen. He underwent his professional postgraduate training in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology at the Hannover Medical School. In 2012, he accepted an offer to become W2 Professor for Infectious Diseases in Liver Recipients at the Hannover Medical School. In February 2018, he became W3 Professor for Internal Medicine with a specialization in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Duisburg-Essen. On April 1, 2020, the doctor took the position of W3 Professor and became the Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology at the Hannover Medical School. Of particular clinical interest for a physician are gastrointestinal and liver diseases, as well as infectious pathologies and transplantology.
The specialist's research is devoted to inflammatory and viral diseases of the liver and gastrointestinal tract. From 1998 to 2000, he studied the cellular immune response in hepatitis C as part of the German Research Foundation (DFG) postgraduate scholarship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA. Since 2001, he has headed the Working Group on Cellular Immunology for Viral Hepatitis at the Hannover Medical School. Currently, Prof. Heiner Wedemeyer is a Project Manager at the Center for Collaborative Research 900 and the German Center for Infection Research.
Prof. Wedemeyer has played an important role in the scientific coordination of the Competence Network for Hepatitis (since 2002) and in the activities of the German Liver Foundation (since 2006). From 2009 to 2011, he worked as Secretary General of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). The doctor was the leader of the working group on the development of national S3 guidelines for the treatment of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and hepatocellular carcinoma, and also participated in the development of clinical guidelines of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). He is currently the Medical Director of Leberstiftungs-GmbH in Germany, which has established the German Hepatitis C Registry with over 17,500 patients. Since January 2020, Prof. Heiner Wedemeyer has been responsible for public relations at the Board of the German Society for Gastroenterology, Digestive and Metabolic Diseases (DGVS).
The specialist has published over 375 original articles and 130 review articles in prestigious journals (New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology). He is also the author of over 50 book chapters and has co-edited 4 books.
Prof. Wedemeyer received many awards and honors, including the Hans Popper Prize from the International Association for the Study of the Liver (2002), Prevention Prize of the German Society of Internal Medicine (2008), Innovation Prize (2011), Rudolph Schoen Prize (2011). In 2018, he became Invited Professor at the CanHep-C – Canadian Hepatitis C Program.
Photo of the doctor: (c) Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH)
About hospital
The Hannover Medical School has the status of a leading German medical facility. The advanced medical technologies, highly qualified specialists, as well as productive research activities form a solid basis for top-class medical service of the world standard. The hospital is proud of its outstanding achievements in the treatment of cancer, diseases of the lung, heart, kidney, liver and metabolic disorders, as well as surgical diseases.
The medical facility diagnoses and treats more than 63,000 inpatients and about 470,000 outpatients annally. These indicators are growing steadily, which indicates the reputability and prestige of the hospital in the European medical arena.
For decades, the hospital has been a pioneer in transplantation medicine and is one of the leading centers of this specialization in the world. It performs about 400 transplantations of solid organs annually. Also, the hospital has performed over 130 bone marrow transplantations. In addition, the hospital ranks among the world leaders in cochlear implantation for the treatment of hearing loss.
Much attention is paid to interdisciplinary cooperation. Since 2016, the hospital has the largest certified Cancer Center in the Federal State of Lower Saxony, which provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary medical care in accordance with the standardized protocols of cancer societies.
The specialists of the hospital offer patients not only modern treatment of the highest quality, but also attentive care, sympathetic attitude to the patient's problems and understanding of his individual needs. Thus, the patient can be sure that his health is in the safe hands of highly qualified doctors.
Photo: (c) depositphotos
Accommodation in hospital
Patients rooms
The patients of the Hannover Medical School live in comfortable and cozy rooms. Each patent room has an ensuite bathroom with shower and toilet. A standard patient room includes an automatically adjustable bed with an orthopedic mattress, a bedside table, a wardrobe, a TV and a telephone. You can use TV, telephone and Internet using a special chip card, which can be purchased at self-service terminals or ordered at the service counter. The hospital allows the patients to use mobile phones, with the exception of intensive care units, some departments and diagnostic rooms.
If desired, the patient can stay in an enhanced-comfort room. Such rooms are distinguished by a more sophisticated design, and are additionally equipped with upholstered furniture, a safe for storing valuables and a mini fridge.
Meals and Menus
The patient and the accompanying person are offered delicious and balanced three meals a day. Breakfast and dinner are served buffet style and lunch can be chosen from three set menus. All dishes are prepared by professional chefs using the freshest ingredients available in the region.
If you are on a specific diet for some reason, you will be offered an individual menu. Please inform the medical staff about your dietary preferences prior to the treatment.
Further details
Standard rooms include:
Religion
There is a chapel on the territory of the hospital, where Christian and Catholic services are regularly held. The hospital provides a prayer room for followers of Islam, which is open for visits 24 hours a day.
Religious services can also be provided upon request.
Accompanying person
During an inpatient program, an accompanying person can stay with you in the patient room or in a hotel of your choice.
Hotel
During an outpatient program, you can stay in a hotel of your choice. The managers will help you choose the most suitable options.