Department of Traumatology - University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

About the Department of Traumatology at University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

The Department of Traumatology at the University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich offers the full range of diagnostics and treatment for acute and chronic, acquired and congenital musculoskeletal injuries of any severity. The department's doctors have excellent professional skills in the treatment of injuries of the lower and upper limbs, spine, and pelvis. In addition, the specialists have rich experience in providing medical care to patients with polytrauma. The department's operating rooms have advanced equipment to provide patients with effective medical care, including emergency care. The department also has the necessary equipment for performing navigation-assisted surgery. A competent team of doctors, which is ready to help in urgent clinical cases at any moment, works around the clock in the medical facility. The department is certified as a supraregional Trauma Center (DGU) and a Center for Severe Injuries (SAV). There is also a helipad for the delivery of seriously injured patients. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Böcker.

The department regularly admits patients with spinal and pelvic injuries. Trauma surgeons treat injuries in all parts of the spine: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral. The most common injuries encountered in clinical practice are vertebral body fractures and dislocations, intervertebral disc injuries, spinal cord or spinal nerve compression due to injuries, anterior and posterior pelvic ring fractures, acetabular fractures, and others. In most cases, the treatment of spinal and pelvic injuries requires surgical interventions, which are among the most complex in traumatology and require the vast experience of surgeons and advanced surgical equipment. During operations, the department's specialists most often use minimally invasive and microsurgical techniques, while open operations are rarely resorted to. Traumatologists also care about the safety of treatment, so during the surgical interventions, they use intraoperative 3D imaging, navigation systems, and surgical microscopes.

The doctors working at the medical facility also have rich experience in treating polytrauma, for example, severe bone fractures combined with lacerations and injuries in the abdominal organs. The patients with polytrauma are treated and cared for in accordance with standardized protocols recognized throughout the world (for example, Advanced Trauma Life Support). The medical facility is one of the few in Germany, which has a modern room for antishock therapy in patients with highly severe injuries, including polytrauma. The department's specialists, together with the doctors from related specialties, do their best to cure the injury and give a patient a chance to return to their full lives.

The department also provides conservative and surgical treatment for injuries of the upper and lower limbs. Doctors are also competent at treating periprosthetic fractures (fractures of the bones next to a previously implanted endoprosthesis). The patients with such fractures undergo osteosynthesis or complex operations to replace prostheses.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Treatment of injuries in elderly patients
  • Spinal injuries
    • Cervical spine injuries (for example, odontoid fracture)
    • Vertebral fractures due to osteoporosis (traumatic and atraumatic)
  • Pelvic injuries
    • Pelvic ring fractures
  • Upper limb injuries
    • Shoulder fractures (proximal and distal)
    • Wrist and forearm fractures
  • Lower limb injuries
    • Hip fractures
    • Femoral fractures
    • Lower leg fractures
  • Fractures after joint replacement surgery or due to osteosynthesis
    • Knee fractures after arthroplasty
    • Bone fractures after surgical stabilization
    • Prosthesis weakening and destruction 
• Treatment of spinal injuries
  • Fractures and dislocations of the vertebral bodies in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine
  • Intervertebral disc injuries
  • Spinal cord or spinal nerve compression due to an injury
  • Acute manifestations of paraplegia in the case of injuries
• Treatment of pelvic injuries
  • Fractures of the anterior and posterior sections of the pelvic ring, iliac and sacral wings
  • Acetabular fractures
• Treatment of upper limb injuries
  • Clavicle fractures
  • Shoulder dislocations
  • Humeral head fractures
  • Elbow injuries: olecranon fractures, fractures of the head of the radius, and fractures of the humeral condyles
  • Distal radius fractures
  • Hand fractures
  • Fractures of the metacarpal bones and phalanges of the fingers
• Treatment of lower limb injuries
  • Femoral fractures
  • Tibial fractures
  • Knee injuries: injuries of the cruciate ligaments and collateral ligament of the knee joint, cartilage injuries, patellar dislocations, and meniscus injuries
  • Tendon tears: quadriceps tendon tears, patellar tendon tears, and Achilles tendon rupture
  • Patella fractures
  • Ankle fractures
  • Hindfoot fractures
  • Forefoot dislocations and fractures 
  • Toe fractures
• Treatment of polytrauma
  • Bone fractures combined with lacerations and injuries in the organs of the abdominal cavity, chest, etc.
• Other medical services