Department of General, Abdominal, Endocrine and Colorectal Surgery - Hospital Kassel

About the Department of General, Abdominal, Endocrine and Colorectal Surgery at Hospital Kassel

The Department of General, Abdominal, Endocrine and Colorectal Surgery at the Hospital Kassel provides the full range of diagnostic interventional procedures and surgical interventions to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, endocrine organs, rectum, including the surgical treatment of cancer of these organs. The department also successfully performs surgery to treat inguinal, umbilical and incisional hernias. The primary focus of the department's clinical activities is on cancer treatment – the department has the status of the only medical facility in Northern Hesse certified as the Bowel Cancer Center and the Pancreatic Cancer Center by the German Cancer Society. The certification guarantees patients cancer treatment at the highest level and in compliance with all the requirements of modern oncology. The surgical treatment can be provided both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Whenever possible, the advanced minimally invasive techniques are used during the surgical treatment. They allow the doctors to perform the intervention through several miniature skin incisions. The operating rooms meet all safety and hygiene standards, and therefore the risk of postoperative infections and complications is almost equal to zero. The department is headed by PD Dr. med. Kia Homayounfar.

The department has excellent diagnostic options for the establishment of an accurate diagnosis and the determination of the advisability of a surgical intervention in a particular clinical case. Prior to surgery, the patient may need to undergo such tests as ultrasound scanning, endosonography and endoscopic examinations (in collaboration with the Department of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Diabetology and Internal Medicine), computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography and others. The necessary complex of laboratory tests is required as well. In the case of unsatisfactory diagnostic results and detection of indications for surgery, the patient is appointed a surgical procedure.

Should cancer be confirmed in a patient, the interdisciplinary tumor board with the participation of all necessary specialists from related medical fields will elaborate a treatment regimen. As a rule, the surgical treatment itself is not enough for total removal of cancer cells, and therefore cancer patients are provided with the comprehensive treatment, which additionally includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and other treatments. A special set of therapeutic procedures is selected for each patient individually, taking into account the particular type of cancer, the stage of the tumor and the course of the disease, the patient's age and his general state of health. The department's surgeons most often have to deal with the surgical treatment of colon, stomach, esophageal, liver, thyroid and parathyroid, adrenal cancers, as well as soft tissue malignancies. Many surgical procedures are performed using minimally invasive techniques, which significantly reduces the postoperative recovery period and guarantees minimal risks of any complications both during the operation and after it.

It should be noted that many interventions are performed on an outpatient basis. The department has two high-tech outpatient operating rooms. After an outpatient surgical procedure, the patient will stay for some time in a special unit with monitoring systems to control his condition. With satisfactory clinical indications, the patient will be offered to move to a special rest room or he can immediately leave the hospital.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Diagnostics
  • Diagnostic, intraoperative and interventional sonography
  • Diagnostic endoscopy and endosonography (in cooperation with the Department of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Diabetology and Internal Medicine)
  • Computed tomography
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography
• Treatment
  • Surgical treatment of inflammatory, benign and malignant gastrointestinal diseases (diseases of the esophagus, stomach, liver, biliary tract, colon)
  • Surgical treatment of benign and malignant endocrine diseases (diseases of the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, pancreas and adrenal glands)
  • Surgical treatment of benign and malignant soft tissue tumors, as well as inflammatory soft tissue lesions 
  • Surgical treatment of rectal diseases
  • Surgical treatment of liver diseases
  • Surgical treatment of inguinal, umbilical and incisional hernias
  • Minimally invasive surgery
    • Gallbladder removal
    • Partial colectomy
    • Inguinal hernia repair 
    • Surgery to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (fundoplication)
    • Total or partial removal of the adrenal glands
    • Appendectomy
    • Splenectomy in the cse of blood diseases
• Other diagnostic and therapeutic options