Surgery in Germany – treatment in the Best Hospitals

What diseases can be treated by German surgeons?

German general and abdominal surgeons usually deal with the treatment of the following diseases:

• acute appendicitis;
• cholecystitis;
• gallstone disease;
• peritonitis;
• hernias;
• cysts, benign and malignant tumors of the abdominal organs;
• developmental anomalies of the digestive system;
• abscesses, phlegmons, and other purulent diseases;
• reflux esophagitis;
• acute pancreatitis;
• complications of gastric ulcers;
• enterocele;
• bowel obstruction;
• Complications of Crohn's disease.

There are a huge number of diseases requiring surgical interventions, but not all of them can be treated in the Department of General Surgery. As a rule, the surgeons deal with treating abdominal organs and soft tissue diseases. If other organs and systems are affected, then highly specialized experts are engaged in their treatment. For example, the surgical treatment of the female reproductive system disorders is performed by gynecologists, neurosurgeons treat brain diseases, and kidney conditions are within the competence of urologists, etc.

Treatment methods in surgery

Although surgery, as a medical discipline, involves the treatment of diseases with surgical techniques, their use is not mandatory. It is often possible to do without surgery but with the help of conservative therapy or minimally invasive procedures.

The surgeons in Germany use the following treatment methods:

• drug therapy;
• non-drug procedures, such as vacuum therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or physiotherapy;
• minimally invasive percutaneous procedures that are performed by inserting a needle under the guidance of imaging methods (ultrasound, CT, X-ray);
• laparoscopic surgery;
• Open surgery.

Whenever possible, conservative therapy or minimally invasive procedures are preferred. The manipulations performed through a skin puncture can replace open surgical interventions in many cases.

Features of surgery in Germany

In recent years, the surgical treatment of diseases in developed countries has become more and more sparing for the patient. The doctors resort to open surgery less and less frequently, instead preferring laparoscopy. The surgical interventions are performed through short incisions, which allows the doctors to provide the following benefits:

• reduce the trauma rate of the intervention;
• reduce blood loss;
• reduce the duration of hospital stay;
• reduce the risk of complications;
• accelerate rehabilitation;
• Improve the aesthetic results of the intervention.

Many hospitals have robot-assisted surgical systems, with the help of which doctors perform operations even more bloodlessly, safely, and efficiently.

When performing any operations, laparoscopic and open, the doctors are increasingly using different energies to dissect tissues, stop bleeding, and destroy pathological masses. These are lasers, argon plasma, bipolar coagulation, cryosurgery, ultrasound, etc.

Cancer surgery

Many patients visit surgical clinics in Germany to cure cancer. Surgery is the main treatment for most cancers. Moreover, these operations are the most complex since the doctor needs to remove the tumor completely to avoid recurrence while maintaining or restoring the function of the organ. Whenever possible, preference is given to organ-preserving interventions.

Many types of cancer are treated using laparoscopic surgery instead of an open one. Colon neoplasms are most often removed with the use of these surgical techniques, but they are less commonly applied for pancreatic and stomach neoplasms. In addition, the laparoscopic technique is used for palliative surgery in oncology, for example, to normalize the outflow of bile into the intestines.

German clinics perform the most complex cytoreductive surgical interventions, which are effective in a case of cancer spread through the peritoneum. This is an advanced stage of cancer with the development of multiple tumor foci in the abdominal cavity. The doctors remove all the tumors within a single surgical procedure and then flush the abdomen with a warm solution of chemotherapy agents to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.

To take advantage of the services of the best German surgeons, you are kindly welcome to make an appointment for diagnostics and treatment abroad through the Booking Health website. The cost of operations will be reduced for you due to the lack of additional coefficients for foreign patients. The Booking Health Company specialists will help you select the best medical center, considering the prices for treatment, the hospital's achievements in specific medical fields, the preferred date of treatment, and other factors. We will take care of the organization of your trip, and you can fully focus on restoring your health.

Authors: 

The article was edited by medical experts, board certified doctors Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk and Dr. Sergey Pashchenko. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!

Sources:

IMTJ - International Medical Travel Journal

Medscape

PubMed