Department of Adult and Pediatric Ophthalmology - Schlosspark Hospital Berlin

About the Department of Adult and Pediatric Ophthalmology at Schlosspark Hospital Berlin

The Department of Adult and Pediatric Ophthalmology at the Schlosspark Hospital Berlin provides the full range of medical services for the diagnostics and treatment of eye diseases. The primary focuses of the department's specialists include the treatment of cataracts, glaucoma, corneal diseases, and strabismus. Depending on the complexity of the clinical case, treatment can be carried out both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. The department admits patients of all ages, including children. The medical facility offers excellent diagnostic options, including optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, fundus photography, eye ultrasound scanning, biometrics using the IOL Master device, perimetry, corneal topography, and other tests. The department has advanced operating rooms for surgical treatment, within which more than 4,000 surgical interventions are performed annually. Such a large number of operations testifies to the vast clinical experience of doctors and the high level of confidence of patients. The department's doctors always devote enough time to counseling patients and talking about possible treatment options and expected treatment outcomes.

The department is headed by Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Peter Rieck. The doctor has been treating ophthalmic diseases for over 30 years and regularly demonstrates excellent results. The specialist has performed more than 20,000 successful surgical interventions on the cornea, lens of the eye, and for glaucoma. Prof. Peter Rieck is also active in research and shares his clinical experience with colleagues at national and international congresses.

One of the most common ophthalmic diagnoses in the department's clinical practice is cataract. The disease causes partial or total clouding of the lens, as a result of which a person's vision deteriorates. The most effective treatment for this pathology is surgery called ultrasonic phacoemulsification, followed by the implantation of an intraocular lens (an artificial lens). Depending on the clinical case, the operation can be performed on an outpatient or inpatient basis. The department's ophthalmologists make a decision on the advisability of cataract surgery after examining the eye with a slit lamp, assessing visual acuity, examining the fundus, assessing visual fields, measuring intraocular pressure, and conducting other diagnostic tests. The operation is performed under injectable local anesthesia or under local anesthesia using eye drops. The duration of the procedure is 15 to 20 minutes. The essence of the operation is to remove the clouded lens and replace it with an artificial intraocular one. The department's doctors use in their clinical practice monofocal aspheric lenses, multifocal lenses, toric lenses, and others.

The department also provides medical care to patients with glaucoma. In cases of this pathology, a person has an impaired outflow of aqueous humor from the eyeball, as a result of which intraocular pressure rises and the optic nerve is affected. As glaucoma progresses, the patient's vision deteriorates, and if left untreated, they are threatened with total blindness. The department's ophthalmologists use both conservative and surgical treatment methods to eliminate glaucoma. Conservative therapy is aimed at lowering intraocular pressure. The patient is prescribed eye drops and drug therapy that positively affect the blood supply and the functioning of the optic nerve. With appropriate clinical indications, the department also uses a non-invasive laser technique called selective laser trabeculoplasty to treat glaucoma. The procedure improves the outflow of aqueous humor, which ultimately helps lower intraocular pressure. Selective laser trabeculoplasty is performed under local drip anesthesia and takes only a few minutes. The last-line therapy for glaucoma is surgery. These may be minimally invasive surgery, trabeculectomy, or surgery to implant drainage devices. The optimal type of treatment is determined by the attending ophthalmologist, depending on the stage and type of glaucoma.

The department's specialists also successfully perform simultaneous operations to treat glaucoma and cataracts. If the patient has both of these pathologies, first a surgical intervention is performed to normalize the outflow of aqueous humor from the eye, after which the ophthalmic surgeon removes the lens and implants a pre-selected intraocular lens in its place. All the necessary therapeutic manipulations can thus be performed during a single surgical intervention, thanks to which it is possible to maintain and improve vision.

The focus of the department's specialists is also on the treatment of corneal diseases. In cases of serious pathological changes, the patient is indicated for a donor corneal transplant. The department uses the latest surgical techniques that eliminate the risk of rejection of a donor organ and guarantee rapid vision restoration. The DMEK technique (Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty) deserves special mention. During the DMEK operation, an ultra-thin graft is transferred to the surface of the eye without any contacts, using a small air cushion on the inside of the recipient's cornea. The operation is especially effective for endothelial corneal dystrophy (Fuchs' dystrophy).

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Conservative and surgical treatment of cataracts
  • Conservative therapy with eye drops (at the early stages of the pathology)
  • Surgical treatment with the removal of the lens and its replacement with an intraocular lens
• Conservative and surgical treatment of glaucoma
  • Drug therapy
  • Laser therapy (selective laser trabeculoplasty)
  • Minimally invasive surgery, trabeculectomy, or surgery to implant drainage devices
• Treatment of corneal diseases (focus on corneal transplant using the DMEK technique)
• Retinal and vitreous surgery
  • Surgery for retinal detachment
  • Surgery for epiretinal fibrosis
  • Surgery for macular hole
  • Surgery for vitreous hemorrhage
  • Surgery for macular edema in age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, venous occlusion, or severe forms of myopia
  • Surgery for retinal degeneration
  • Surgery for proliferative diabetic retinopathy or vascular occlusion
• Treatment of keratoconus with crosslinking
• Conservative and surgical treatment of visual impairments
  • Strabismus correction in adults and children
  • Amblyopia correction
  • Binocular diplopia correction
  • Treatment of eye muscle paresis
  • Treatment of asthenopia
• Eyelid surgery
  • Surgery for dermatochalasis
  • Surgery for ptosis
  • Surgery for ectropion and entropion
  • Surgery for eyelid tumors
• Tear duct surgery
  • Correction of congenital narrowing or obstruction of the tear duct (dacryostenosis)
• Other medical services