Department of Adult and Pediatric Orthopedics, Traumatology, Foot Surgery and Spinal Surgery - Meoclinic Hospital Berlin

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Orthopedics, Traumatology, Foot Surgery and Spinal Surgery at Meoclinic Hospital Berlin

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Orthopedics, Traumatology, Foot Surgery and Spinal Surgery at the Meoclinic Hospital Berlin provides the full range of conservative and surgical treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. The department provides medical care to patients with traumatic injuries, including sports injuries, knee, hip, shoulder and ankle diseases, as well as to patients with spinal injuries and diseases. The department has a special competence in the field of arthroscopy, joint replacement surgery and surgical treatment of spinal pathologies. Of particular interest in the field of pediatric orthopedics is the treatment of congenital musculoskeletal malformations in children, as well as the treatment of acquired orthopedic pathologies and injuries. The department's doctors have modern diagnostic equipment for a comprehensive examination of all musculoskeletal structures and the development of the most effective treatment regimen. The department's doctors devote enough time to personal communication with each patient, thoroughly study the anamnesis and diagnostic data, and then provide the appropriate treatment. Whenever possible, conservative techniques are preferred, and if surgery is required, sparing minimally invasive interventions are performed.

The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Michael Akbar. According to the Focus magazine, the doctor ranks among the best German specialists in the surgical treatment of spinal pathologies. He has performed more than 10,000 successful spinal interventions.

The department's specialists have been treating arthrosis for many years. With appropriate clinical indications, conservative treatment methods are prescribed: taking pills, applying ointments, intra-articular injections, therapeutic exercises and physiotherapy procedures. Unfortunately, patients often seek help in the advanced stages of pathology, when the only effective treatment is surgical intervention for partial or total joint replacement with a prosthesis. The department's orthopedists successfully perform knee and hip replacement surgery. At the stage of preparation for the surgical intervention, laboratory blood tests, X-ray and ultrasound scanning, as well as computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging are conducted. The doctors of the medical facility use minimally invasive techniques in their work, which ensure quick recovery of patients and mild pain syndrome. As a rule, already on the first day after the joint replacement surgery, the patient can get out of bed and move around on his own. The period of hospitalization after the surgical treatment is 7-10 days, after which the patient is recommended rehabilitation in a specialized medical center.

Another important area of the department's ​​work is arthroscopic interventions for the diagnostics and treatment of the knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle joints. The surgical interventions are performed through miniature skin incisions, using a special tool – an arthroscope. During the manipulation, the doctor makes only two incisions 5-6 mm long in the joint area, which ensures minimal invasiveness of the procedure. The arthroscope is inserted through the incisions. Depending on the severity of the joint injury, either general or local anesthesia can be used. Arthroscopic interventions are indicated for the patients with rotator cuff tear, impingement syndrome, shoulder instability, meniscus and cruciate ligament injuries, patellar dislocation, foreign bodies in the elbow joint, etc.

The department's range of services is complemented by the diagnostics and treatment of foot and ankle diseases, including in children. The most common pathologies in the department's clinical practice are toe and foot deformities. The department's specialists also admit patients with traumatic and degenerative injuries of the foot and ankle joint. To assess the anatomical structure of the foot, the department uses the very latest diagnostic examinations: digital X-ray, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound scanning, dynamic and static pedography with digital image processing. To correct foot and ankle deformities, the use of special orthoses and insoles is often sufficient. If such therapy does not give the desired result, the department's specialists consider surgical treatment using percutaneous, minimally invasive and open surgical techniques.

The special focus of the medical facility is on the treatment of spinal diseases. The department's orthopedists specialize in the treatment of degenerative and infectious spinal diseases, spinal injuries and tumors, as well as in the correction of spinal deformities in adults and children. Spinal surgeons have in their arsenal advanced surgical techniques: minimally invasive, microsurgical and endoscopic ones. Thus, patients do not require long-term hospitalization after surgery, and surgical risks are almost zero.

The department admits children and adolescents with various musculoskeletal diseases. Of particular interest is the treatment of bone fractures, dislocations and scoliosis. During the therapeutic process, both conservative and surgical techniques are used. When planning treatment, the specialists always take into account the age of a young patient and the level of his physical development, since it is important for them not only to save the child from pathology, but also to ensure the proper further development of the growing organism.

The department's main clinical focuses include:

• Treatment of musculoskeletal injuries of any severity in adults and children
• Joint replacement surgery
  • Partial and total knee replacement
  • Partial and total hip replacement
• Arthroscopy
  • Shoulder arthroscopy
    • Rotator cuff tear
    • Shoulder instability
    • Calcific tendonitis 
    • Impingement syndrome
    • Articular lip injuries
    • Biceps tendon injuries
  • Knee arthroscopy
    • Meniscus injuries
    • Anterior cruciate ligament injuries
    • Patellar dislocation
    • Knee cartilage lesions (microfracture, autologous chondrocyte transplantation and autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis)
  • Elbow arthroscopy
    • Free articular body removal
    • Elbow instability
  • Ankle arthroscopy
• Foot surgery
  • Hallux valgus
    • Minimally invasive interventions
    • Stabilizing surgery
    • Corrective interventions
    • Revision surgery
  • Hallux rigidus
    • Joint-preserving operations
    • Cartilage replacement in the metatarsophalangeal joint
    • Osteosynthesis
    • Revision surgery
  • Toe deformities (hammer toes, claw toes, toe dislocations)
    • Minimally invasive interventions
    • Classic open surgery
    • Percutaneous surgical interventions
    • Revision surgery
  • Flat feet in adults and children
    • Minimally invasive interventions
    • Percutaneous surgical interventions
    • Achilles tendon lengthening (open, percutaneous)
  • Ankle diseases and traumatic injuries
    • Foot ligament plastic surgery
    • Foot tendon plastic surgery (tendon suture, transposition)
    • Foot cartilage reconstruction
    • Calcaneal osteotomy
    • Ankle joint replacement
    • Revision foot and ankle surgery
    • Ankle arthroscopy
    • Arthroscopic treatment of cartilage defects in the upper part of the ankle joint
• Spinal surgery
  • Treatment of degenerative spinal diseases
    • Spinal disc herniation
    • Spinal stenosis
    • Spondylosis
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteochondrosis
    • Spondylolisthesis
  • Treatment of spinal deformities in children and adolescents
    • Idiopathic scoliosis
    • Neuromuscular scoliosis
    • Neuromuscular kyphoscoliosis
    • Atypical scoliosis
    • Kyphosis
    • Spondylolisthesis
  • Treatment of spinal deformities in adults
    • Degenerative scoliosis
    • Kyphosis
    • Post-traumatic kyphosis
    • Kyphosis caused by ankylosing spondylitis
    • Spondylolisthesis
    • Flat back syndrome
  • Treatment of infectious spinal diseases
    • Spondylodiscitis
  • Treatment of spinal fractures
  • Treatment of primary and secondary spinal tumors
• Other medical services

The range of conservative treatment methods provided in the department:

• Shockwave therapy
• Sanakin regenerative therapy
• Manual therapy
• Therapeutic exercises
• Lymphatic drainage
• Osteopathy
• Electrotherapy
• Ultrasound therapy
• Injection therapy with hyaluronic acid, cortisone and local anesthetics
• Classic massage
• Lomi Lomi massage
• Fascial techniques
• Pilates
• Kinesiology taping
• Other types of conservative therapy