Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand Surgery - University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

About the Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand Surgery at University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

The Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand Surgery at the University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich offers the full range of services in these fields. The department performs reconstructive plastic surgery aimed at repairing defects after injuries, cancer, and infectious diseases. For patients who wish to improve their appearance without any clinical indications, aesthetic plastic surgery services are available, including facelift, otoplasty, rhinoplasty, body lift, breast augmentation, and anti-aging procedures with Botox and fillers. The department's surgeons also successfully cope with treating hand diseases. Medical care is provided by a team of 17 highly qualified surgeons who daily perform surgical interventions in two state-of-the-art operating rooms. With appropriate indications, outpatient surgery may be performed. When performing surgery, the department's specialists use innovative techniques to achieve excellent therapeutic and aesthetic results. 

The Head Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Riccardo Giunta. The doctor has tremendous clinical experience and regularly demonstrates high treatment success rates. Previously, Prof. Riccardo Giunta worked as the President of the German Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (DGPRÄC), which attests to his exceptional professional skills.

One of the main focuses of the department's medical team is reconstructive plastic surgery. The specialists most often perform breast reconstruction in women after breast cancer surgery (mastectomy). The department's reconstructive surgeons use silicone implants or the patient's autologous tissues to repair the female breast. The last option is plastic surgery with a DIEP flap, which involves excision of a skin flap in the patient along with subcutaneous adipose tissues, nerves, and blood vessels in the abdomen (in some cases, from the buttocks) and their transplantation on the site of the excised breast. With the help of microsurgical techniques and special instruments, plastic surgeons suture blood vessels together, providing blood supply to the reconstructed breast. DIEP-flap reconstructive surgery is considered a complex intervention, but the department's specialists regularly perform such operations and demonstrate excellent results.

The department's plastic surgeons have been providing effective treatment for lymphedema for many years. The pathology develops due to an impaired lymph outflow and its accumulation in the intercellular space, as a result of which the volume of the lower or upper limbs increases. The main treatment for lymphedema is conservative therapy. However, in some clinical cases, a microsurgical intervention may be required. The department's surgical options include vascularized lymph node transfer, transposition of the lymphatic vessels, and lymphovenous bypass. The purpose of the above-mentioned interventions is to create new pathways for the outflow of lymphatic fluid from the affected limb. The optimal type of the surgical procedure is determined based on the clinical data. After the operation, a patient will stay under constant medical supervision. Doctors will also apply elastic bandages and perform lymphatic drainage massages. The final results of the surgical treatment can be assessed several months after the operation.

The department has many options for plastic surgery after bariatric surgery or sudden weight loss through diet and exercise. Significant weight loss affects the aesthetics of the body, leading to sagging skin. In addition to aesthetic problems, there are also functional disorders, such as limited mobility and recurrent inflammatory processes in the groin and armpits. The department's plastic surgeons assess the degree of skin sagging, determine the most problematic areas of the body, and take full-body images of the patient. The images are processed in a special 3D visualization program, which allows the doctors to compare the patient's photos in different projections before and after plastic surgery. Based on the most problematic areas of the body after weight loss, the specialists can perform the following types of plastic surgery: abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), torsoplasty (back lift), mastopexy (breast lift), femoroplasty (thigh lift), brachioplasty (arm lift), or several of these surgical procedures at the same time. The department's plastic surgeons are highly professional, so patients can be sure that they will be pleasantly surprised by the result.

Aesthetic plastic surgery is an integral part of the department's clinical practice. Operations on this spectrum are performed without any medical indications but at a patient's request. The most requested aesthetic head and face surgeries include a facelift, neck lift, forehead lift, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, and otoplasty. Effective injection procedures with Botox, fillers, and autologous adipose tissues are used to treat wrinkles. In the body area, plastic surgeons most often perform breast augmentation, breast lift, abdominoplasty, liposuction, body contouring, and body lift. Whenever required, a computer simulation of the expected result of aesthetic plastic surgery can be carried out before the intervention.

The department offers a wide range of services for treating hand diseases. The surgeons at the medical facility treat patients with hand injuries, nerve ending compression syndromes (for example, carpal tunnel syndrome), Dupuytren's contracture, ganglion, rheumatic hand lesions, trigger fingers, etc. In some cases, the specialists use only conservative therapy. The department has high-tech operating rooms for performing hand surgery of any complexity, including finger and hand replantation.

The department's range of surgical services includes:

• Reconstructive plastic surgery
  • Reconstructive interventions after breast tumor removal: placement of silicone implants and DIEP flap plastic surgery 
  • Reconstructive interventions for malformations and asymmetries of the breast and nipple
  • Reconstructive interventions after injuries
  • Reconstructive interventions after soft tissue tumor removal in the trunk and limbs
  • Reconstructive interventions after skin and mucous membrane tumor removal
  • Reconstructive interventions after head and neck tumor removal
  • Reconstructive interventions after bone tumor removal
  • Reconstructive interventions for bedsores
  • Reconstructive interventions after burns in all areas of the body
  • Reconstructive interventions for facial paralysis
  • Reconstructive surgery on the brachial plexus
  • Reconstructive interventions for lymphedema: vascularized lymph node transplant, transposition of the lymphatic vessels and lymphovenous bypass surgery
• Aesthetic plastic surgery
  • Head and neck aesthetic plastic surgery
    • Facelift
    • Neck lift
    • Forehead lift (endoscopic techniques)
    • Eyelid lift
    • Nose reshaping (rhinoplasty)
    • Ear reshaiping (otoplasty)
    • Anti-aging Botox, filler and autologous adipose tissue injections for treating wrinkles
    • Scar revision: laser and surgical techniques
  • Aesthetic body plastic surgery
    • Breast augmentation, reduction and lift, including gynecomastia treatment in men
    • Abdominoplasty
    • Liposuction
    • Body contouring
    • Body lift
    • Scar revision: laser and surgical techniques
• Hand surgery
  • Finger, hand and arm replantation
  • Reconstructive interventions for congenital malformations
  • Reconstructive interventions for severe hand injuries
  • Surgical and conservative treatment of compression syndromes (for example, carpal tunnel syndrome)
  • Surgical and conservative treatment of hand fractures
  • Surgical and conservative treatment of hand nerve injuries
  • Surgical and conservative treatment of Dupuytren's contracture
  • Surgical interventions for wrist and hand ganglion
  • Surgical and conservative treatment of wrist arthrosis
  • Surgical treatment of pain in the wrist joint
  • Surgical and conservative treatment of hand tendon injuries
  • Surgical and conservative treatment of trigger fingers and inflammatory processes in the hand
  • Resection of hand tumors
• Other medical services