Department of Adult and Pediatric Thoracic Surgery - Hospital Kassel

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Thoracic Surgery at Hospital Kassel

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Thoracic Surgery at the Hospital Kassel provides the highly accurate diagnostics and effective surgical treatment of diseases of the lungs, mediastinum and other thoracic organs. Patient care is provided in close cooperation with doctors from the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Pulmonology. The primary focus of the medical facility is on the treatment of lung cancer and cancer of other thoracic organs, therefore, oncologists, chemotherapists, radiation therapists, radiologists and other specialists are involved in the therapeutic process. Thus, patients receive comprehensive treatment based on the expert knowledge and clinical experience of doctors from the related fields. The department admits not only adults, but also young patients. The key focus in the field of pediatric thoracic surgery is on the correction of pectus carinatum and pectus excavatum. Using only modern and the most effective surgical techniques, the department keeps pace with medical innovations. The medical facility is the only one in the region where thoracic surgeons successfully use an advanced surgical endoscopic technique – single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). The department is headed by Dr. med. Sebastian Kellner.

The department's surgeons most often perform surgery to treat lung cancer, mediastinal tumors and tumors of other thoracic organs. Whenever possible, the surgical treatment is performed using sparing surgical techniques (VATS), which allow the doctors to avoid chest opening and injury to the neighboring healthy tissues. When performing video-assisted thoracoscopic interventions, the surgeon makes only a few small skin incisions, through which he inserts special miniature instruments and a small video camera to transmit the image of the operating field on a large screen. The department also uses VATS for partial lobectomy (removal of a lobe of the lung). In addition, the department's team of thoracic surgeons has successful experience in resecting a large number of lung metastases using an innovative laser device. Cancer surgery is always complemented by chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to completely destroy cancer cells.

An equally important field of ​​the department's clinical activities is the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the lungs, mediastinum and pleura – lung abscess, mediastinitis, acute and chronic pleural empyema. At the early stages of the inflammatory process, the specialists prefer sparing surgery (thoracoscopy). If the inflammation progresses, the surgeons have to resort to open surgery with chest opening (thoracotomy). The department's doctors have excellent qualifications in both thoracoscopy and thoracotomy, and therefore they provide patients with high-quality and effective surgical treatment in clinical cases of any severity.

The department's team of thoracic surgeons focuses on children with congenital thoracic deformities (pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum). The congenital defects not only negatively affect the functioning of the lungs and heart, but also cause psychological complexes in the child, which become the cause of low self-esteem. The department's specialists recommend surgery to correct thoracic deformities at the age of 13-17 years. For this purpose, the department uses sparing endoscopic Nuss procedure. The first stage of the operation is the correction of the irregular shape of the thorax, after which the surgeons fix the chest wall using special metal brackets, which are removed 2-3 years after the corrective intervention. All surgical manipulations are performed through small skin incisions, which excludes a traumatic chest opening. 

The department's main clinical focuses include:

• Diagnostics
  • Flexible and rigid bronchoscopy
  • Tracheoscopy
  • Thoracic ultrasound
  • Combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (in collaboration with the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nuclear Medicine)
  • Computed tomography (in collaboration with the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nuclear Medicine)
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (in collaboration with the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nuclear Medicine)
  • Ultrasound- and CT-guided punch biopsy
  • Diagnostic thoracoscopy
  • Diagnostic mediastinoscopy
  • Parasternal mediastinotomy
• Treatment
  • Surgery to resect benign and malignant tumors of the lungs, pleura and other thoracic organs
  • Surgery to treat inflammatory diseases of the lungs, mediastinum and pleura (lung abscess, mediastinitis, acute and chronic pleural empyema)
  • Laser removal of lung metastases, including a large number of metastases
  • Surgery to treat interstitial lung diseases (pneumothorax, pulmonary emphysema)
  • Surgery to treat diaphragm paralysis
  • Surgery to correct pectus carinatum and pectus excavatum in adults and children
  • Surgery to resect mediastinal tumors (for example, neuromas, thymomas, cysts)
  • Surgery to treat tracheal stenosis, edema and injuries
  • Thymectomy (surgical removal of the thymus gland)
  • Minimally invasive interventions on the lungs and other thoracic organs
    • Nuss procedure for the correction of pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum
    • Surgery to remove mediastinal tumors
    • Partial lobectomy (VATS)
    • Thoracoscopic sympathectomy to treat hyperhidrosis
    • Single-port lobectomy (VATS)
• Other diagnostic and treatment methods

Photo of the doctor: (c) Klinikum Kassel