Department of Adult and Pediatric Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Foot Surgery and Plastic Surgery - Marienhaus Hospital St. Elisabeth Neuwied

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Foot Surgery and Plastic Surgery at Marienhaus Hospital St. Elisabeth Neuwied

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Foot Surgery and Plastic Surgery at the Marienhaus Hospital St. Elisabeth Neuwied provides the full range of services in the areas of its competence at the highest level of European medicine. The health facility successfully performs conservative and surgical treatment of all musculoskeletal diseases. The department's clinical priorities include hip, knee, shoulder, and ankle replacement surgery (EndoCert certification as the Maximum Care Joint Replacement Surgery Center), arthroscopic interventions on large joints, the treatment of injuries of any severity, and the treatment of orthopedic diseases in children. The department's team of doctors is convinced that the key to effective treatment is accurate diagnostics and therefore offers its patients an excellent diagnostic base, including advanced systems for X-ray, sonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance tomography. The department has state-of-the-art operating rooms for the surgical treatment of patients, where both routine and extremely complex surgical procedures are performed. Whenever possible, preference is given to minimally invasive techniques, which allow patients to stand on their feet the same day after the operation. Upon the completion of the basic course of treatment, patients can undergo comprehensive orthopedic rehabilitation at a partner Rehabilitation Center, if desired. The department is headed by PD Dr. med. Christoph Georg Wölfl.

An integral part of the daily clinical practice of the department's orthopedists is the performance of partial and total hip, knee, shoulder, and ankle joint replacement surgery (arthroplasty). In 2021 (reaffirmed in 2022), the medical facility was awarded the EndoCert quality certificate, the most prestigious certification in orthopedics in Germany, attesting to the excellent medical service in this area. The most common surgical procedures in the department's operating rooms are hip and knee replacement surgeries. With more than 700 such surgical interventions every year, the department has gained a reputation as one of the best Joint Replacement Surgery Centers in Germany. The center provides patients with effective and safe treatment. The medical facility is also included in the German Arthroplasty Registry (an external quality control system for operations of this kind), so patients have open access to data on the treatment success rates.

Hip replacement surgery is recommended for patients with severe joint degeneration that cannot be managed with conservative methods. Prior to the surgical intervention, a comprehensive diagnosis is performed, and the best prosthesis is individually selected for the patient. It is important to note that the department's specialists work only with high-quality endoprostheses from the world's leading manufacturers with a long service life. During partial joint replacement surgery, the surgeon replaces only the damaged parts of the joint, for example, the femoral head, while total replacement surgery involves replacing the entire joint with an endoprosthesis. In the vast majority of cases, the department's orthopedists use minimally invasive surgical techniques, which allow for the preservation of the integrity of muscle tissue, thereby significantly accelerating the patient's recovery in the postoperative period and ensuring an excellent cosmetic result. When performing hip replacement surgery for young patients, the specialists prefer the cementless technique for the fixation of the artificial joint and use short-stem prostheses. This approach allows the doctors to preserve a sufficient amount of bone tissue in the femoral neck, which facilitates the process of revision replacement surgery because most young patients after 15-20 years will need a second operation to replace the previously implanted hip joint prosthesis.

The department also successfully performs knee replacement surgery. This treatment option is the last-line therapy for patients with knee osteoarthritis (gonarthrosis). The decision to perform an operation is made when drug therapy and physiotherapy fail and a patient suffers from severe pain and joint stiffness. During the preparation stage for the surgery, the patient undergoes a comprehensive diagnosis, and the optimal endoprosthesis is selected based on the anatomical features of the knee joint structure. Depending on the severity of knee joint damage, the department's specialists perform partial or total replacement surgery. Partial knee replacement surgery involves replacing only the damaged part of the knee joint while leaving healthy tissue intact. As for total knee replacement surgery, a complete replacement of the joint elements is performed. Knee replacement surgery is performed in the medical facility using minimally invasive techniques under general or epidural anesthesia. On the second day after the operation, the patient gets on their feet and begins to perform simple physical exercises to restore muscle strength and the normal range of motion of the knee. Full recovery after surgery takes 6-8 weeks.

The department is certified as a regional Trauma Center, which strictly follows the standards of modern medicine. The primary focus is on the treatment of highly severe and multiple injuries. The department treats more than 3,000 patients with traumatic injuries every year. Patients are admitted around the clock. Medical care is based on an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, all necessary specialists in related fields are involved in the therapeutic process. For example, for effective treatment of patients with severe injuries, not only trauma surgeons but also neurosurgeons, thoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons, abdominal surgeons, and other specialists are involved in the process.

Foot surgery is a highly developed medical field in the department. Experienced surgeons in this area operate on patients with flat feet, heel spurs, hallux valgus, hallux rigidus, hammer toe deformity, claw toe deformity, ankle arthritis, and ankle instability. The specialists also treat infants and young children with congenital clubfoot and metatarsus adductus. First of all, the department's doctors consider possible conservative treatment options, such as wearing orthopedic shoes or insoles and correcting foot deformities with special orthopedic devices. However, surgery is quite often the most effective way to permanently eliminate foot pathology. Minimally traumatic microsurgical techniques are used during interventions, contributing to the rapid recovery of patients after the operation.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Orthopedics
  • Joint replacement surgery
    • Partial and total hip replacement surgery
    • Partial and total knee replacement surgery
    • Partial and total shoulder replacement surgery
    • Partial and total ankle replacement surgery
    • Hip, knee, shoulder, and ankle revision replacement surgery
  • Arthroscopy
    • Knee arthroscopy
      • Arthroscopic surgery for meniscal tears
      • Arthroscopic surgery for cartilage defects, including mosaicplasty (OATS) and autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC)
      • Arthroscopic surgery for cruciate ligament tears
      • Arthroscopic surgery for intra-articular loose bodies in the knee joint
      • Arthroscopic surgery for patellar injuries and dislocations
    • Shoulder arthroscopy
      • Arthroscopic surgery for rotator cuff tears
      • Arthroscopic surgery for acromioclavicular joint arthritis
      • Arthroscopic surgery for shoulder instability
      • Arthroscopic surgery for intra-articular loose bodies in the shoulder joint
    • Elbow arthroscopy
      • Arthroscopic surgery for cartilage defects
      • Arthroscopic surgery for intra-articular loose bodies in the elbow joint
    • Ankle arthroscopy
      • Arthroscopic surgery for cartilage defects
      • Arthroscopic surgery for intra-articular loose bodies in the ankle joint
  • Bone tumor surgery
  • Surgical correction of axial deformities of the lower limbs in adults and children
• Trauma surgery
  • Treatment of multiple injuries and severe polytrauma (in interdisciplinary cooperation)
  • Treatment of occupational and domestic injuries
  • Treatment of all types of fractures and dislocations in adults and children, including spinal fractures
  • Treatment of sports injuries
• Foot surgery
  • Treatment of flat feet
  • Treatment of heel spurs
  • Hallux valgus repair
  • Hallux rigidus repair
  • Hammer toe repair
  • Claw toe repair
  • Treatment of ankle arthritis
  • Treatment of ankle instability
  • Repair of the congenital clubfoot and metatarsus adductus in infants and young children
• Hand surgery
  • Treatment of hand injuries, including finger amputations
  • Treatment of trigger fingers
  • Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Treatment of Dupuytren's contracture
  • Wrist arthroscopy
  • Treatment of wrist stiffness
  • Treatment of chronic pain in the hand and wrist
  • Treatment of malformations of the hand joints (pseudoarthrosis)
  • Treatment of tendon injuries
  • Treatment of Sudeck's syndrome
• Plastic surgery
  • Closure of superficial defects with skin and musculocutaneous flaps
  • Treatment of the consequences of burns
  • Scar revision
  • Breast augmentation
  • Breast reduction
  • Breast lift
  • Abdominoplasty and thigh lift
  • Skin tumor removal
  • Ear reshaping surgery
  • Correction of drooping eyelids
• Other medical services