Department of Neuroradiology - HELIOS University Hospital Wuppertal

About the Department of Neuroradiology at HELIOS University Hospital Wuppertal

The Department of Neuroradiology at the HELIOS University Hospital Wuppertal provides the full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services in the areas of ​​its specialization. The team of the department's doctors deals with the diagnostics and treatment of brain and spinal cord pathologies. The department has at its disposal state-of-the-art medical equipment, including systems for CT, MRI and myelography, thanks to which specialists can comprehensively assess the state of the nervous system, detect pathological processes at the initial stages and provide effective treatment. Among the department's therapeutic options, a special focus is on the interventional treatment of acute stroke – thrombectomy. Another important focus of the specialists' work is the treatment of cerebral vascular malformations, stenosis of the arteries of the brain and spinal cord, and cerebral aneurysms. In addition, the department provides CT-guided interventional pain management to relieve chronic back pain. The department's neuroradiologists cooperate closely with doctors from the related medical specialties: neurologists, neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists and radiation therapists. The specialists strive to provide each patient with high quality medical care meeting his needs and wishes. The department is headed by Dr. med. Thorsten Schmidt.

The key area of the department's competence is the urgent treatment of acute stroke with thrombectomy – an interventional procedure to remove a blood clot from a vessel. The purpose of the therapeutic procedure is to restore the patency of the affected area of ​​the artery and normalize blood flow in the brain. Thrombectomy is performed in advanced medical centers with special equipment and qualified doctors. The department's specialists resort to this procedure only in cases when it is impossible to carry out lysis therapy (the procedure of blood clot "dissolution" with medicines) or when it is ineffective. The interventional manipulation is performed under general anesthesia and involves the introduction of a catheter through a puncture of the femoral artery. With the help of imaging devices, the surgeon can clearly see the route of catheter advancement. After the catheter reaches the thrombosed artery in the brain, the surgeon captures the thrombus and mechanically removes it. After the procedure, the patient is constantly monitored by medical personnel and receives the necessary treatment.

The department's doctors also have vast experience in the endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms. Previously, the only treatment method for aneurysms was considered open surgery that required craniotomy, but today there is a sparing endovascular method for aneurysm removal. The department's doctors treat cerebral aneurysms using microcoil embolization. This does not require craniotomy, since access to the pathological focus is provided by puncturing the femoral artery. The surgeon inserts a microcatheter into the groin, and then advances it along the bloodstream to the aneurysm. With the microcatheter, platinum microcoils are delivered to the aneurysm, using which the surgeon blocks the blood flow to the aneurysm and eliminates the risk of aneurysm rupture. The intervention involves the use of constant X-ray guidance, and special contrast agents are injected into the human body immediately before the procedure to visualize the vessels. Microcoil embolization practically does not injure healthy tissues, therefore, the patient does not suffer from severe pain and can leave the hospital 2-3 days (with satisfactory results of follow-up examinations) after the surgical intervention.

In its clinical practice, the department often deals with cases of severe back pain that does not respond to classical pharmacotherapy. In such cases, interventional pain management is indicated to the patient, namely periradicular therapy or facet joint infiltration (depending on the cause of chronic back pain). Both procedures are performed under local anesthesia and X-ray guidance to exclude damage to vital spinal structures. During the manipulations, the doctor injects anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. Periradicular therapy and facet joint infiltration ensure good results and can be repeated.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Diagnostics
  • Computed tomography
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Myelography
  • CT-guided sampling of brain and spinal cord tissue (biopsy)
• Treatment
  • Thrombectomy for the treatment of acute stroke
  • Endovascular embolization for cerebral aneurysms
  • Interventional repair of arteriovenous malformations
  • Interventional treatment of dural arteriovenous fistulas
  • Interventional treatment of vertebral and cerebral artery stenosis
  • Interventional treatment of intracranial artery stenosis
  • Removal of vascular neoplasms in the head and neck: glomus tumors and hemangiomas
  • Interventional CT-guided pain management: periradicular therapy and facet joint infiltration
• Other diagnostic and therapeutic options