Department of Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Reconstructive Burn Surgery and Hand Surgery - Nuremberg Hospital

About the Department of Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Reconstructive Burn Surgery and Hand Surgery at Nuremberg Hospital

The Department of Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Reconstructive Burn Surgery and Hand Surgery at the Nuremberg Hospital offers the full range of surgical interventions in these medical fields. The department includes a specialized Burn Center, where patients with burn injuries can receive medical care. In the field of hand surgery, the department admits patients with diseases, injuries, and malformations of the hand. Of particular interest is breast plastic surgery, such as breast augmentation, breast reduction, and breast lift. The department's surgeons also successfully perform skin lift surgeries in the abdomen, arms, and thighs after weight loss. Another area of competence for the department's plastic surgeons is liposuction for patients with severe forms of lipedema. Minimally invasive surgical techniques are widely used during interventions, thanks to which the risks to the patient's health are practically eliminated and a good aesthetic result is ensured. The team of surgeons at the medical center admits more than 3,000 patients every year. Surgical procedures are most often performed on an outpatient basis without a mandatory hospital stay. The specialists make every effort to provide each patient with top-class medical service. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Bert Reichert.

An important focus of the department's team of surgeons is breast plastic surgery. The specialists have vast experience in breast augmentation, breast reduction, and breast lifts. Such surgical interventions are performed here for both medical and aesthetic reasons. Breast augmentation surgery is the most popular, which women usually resort to when wanting to improve their appearance. The department offers the following two options for breast augmentation: plastic surgery using silicone implants and lipofilling (injection of the patient's autologous adipose tissue to restore the breast volume). In cases of lipofilling, surgeons most often use adipose tissue from the abdomen or thighs (liposuction).

Prior to breast augmentation surgery, the surgeon holds a consultation, during which the patient tells the doctor about her wishes and the doctor offers options, talks in detail about the upcoming operation, and prescribes a set of diagnostic tests to exclude any health risks. If silicone implants have been chosen at the preparation stage for plastic surgery, the surgeon, along with the patient, selects the optimal size and shape of the implant. The intervention is performed under general anesthesia and usually lasts 1-2 hours. Minimally invasive techniques are used during breast augmentation surgery. A surgical approach for implant placement is created in the inframammary fold, areola, or armpit.

The department has gained long and successful experience in lipedema surgery. This pathology is characterized by an abnormal distribution of adipose tissue, leading to excessive fatty deposits on the thighs, lower legs, and ankles. Lipedema affects only women. First of all, pathology is an aesthetic problem, but it also has clinical symptoms such as pain syndrome, hematoma formation, varicose veins, etc. In the early stages of lipedema, doctors provide conservative treatment, including physiotherapy, walking, swimming, psychotherapy, etc. The last-line treatment is a surgical procedure called liposuction, during which a plastic surgeon removes fatty deposits in the areas of the body affected by lipedema. The surgical intervention is performed under general anesthesia using minimally invasive surgical techniques. In many cases, several liposuction procedures may be required to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. Following liposuction, the problem of sagging skin in the areas where the fatty deposits have been removed often arises, so an additional skin lift procedure is recommended for the patient. Surgical treatment is complemented by physiotherapy, normalization of nutrition, and psychotherapy.

The department houses an advanced Burn Center, which is one of the largest in Germany. The medical facility includes an intensive care unit with 8 beds and an in-house operating room. The team of doctors at the center specializes in the treatment of severe burns and their complications, including scar revision and the treatment of functional disorders. The health facility annually treats more than 100 patients with severe burns from flames, hot liquids, chemicals, and explosions. The doctors have vast experience in the treatment of facial burn injuries, which require high competence and special professional skills.

Hand surgery is an integral part of the department's work. Microsurgical interventions for various hand diseases, injuries, and malformations are successfully performed in the operating rooms at the medical facility. The primary focus of the surgeons' work in this area is the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, which causes nerve compression in the wrist. In many cases, doctors can help the patient without surgery by prescribing medications and special splints. A surgical procedure may be performed only in complex cases. Whenever possible, preference is given to endoscopic surgical techniques, but the department's surgeons also perform operations for carpal tunnel syndrome using classic open techniques. A surgeon determines the optimal type of surgery depending on the patient's clinical data.

The department's clinical focuses include:

• Aesthetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery
  • Breast plastic surgery
    • Breast augmentation
    • Breast reduction
    • Breast lift
  • Liposuction for lipedema
  • Skin lift surgery
    • Abdominoplasty
    • Arm lift and thigh lift
  • Reconstructive plastic surgery after malignant tumor resection
• Reconstructive burn surgery (treatment of burns of all degrees of severity and their complications)
  • Treatment of flame burns
  • Treatment of hot liquid burns
  • Treatment of blast-related burns
  • Treatment of chemical burns
  • Treatment of electrical burns
• Hand surgery
  • Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Surgery for Dupuytren's contracture
  • Finger replantation
• Other medical services