Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics - St. Anna Hospital Herne

About the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at St. Anna Hospital Herne

The Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the St. Anna Hospital Herne provides the full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services for women with diseases of the reproductive system. The department's competence also includes comprehensive management of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care. The department most often provides treatment to patients with endometriosis, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts and other benign neoplasms, as well as urinary incontinence. A special focus is made on the treatment of the female reproductive cancers: uterine and cervical cancers, ovarian, fallopian tube, vaginal and vulvar cancers. The department's specialists carry out conservative and surgical treatment of gynecologic diseases. Gynecologists widely use laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical techniques, and also use transvaginal access. Open surgery is performed only in complex clinical cases, usually for oncology. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Sven Schiermeier.

More and more patients come to the department with suspected cancer of the reproductive system: cervical, endometrial, ovarian, vaginal and vulvar cancers. Such women undergo comprehensive diagnostics, including laboratory tests and instrumental tests. Thus, doctors receive comprehensive information about the type of tumor, the stage of cancer, the presence or absence of metastases, which determines the tactics of further treatment. In most cases, the first-line therapy is surgical resection of the malignant tumor, while the advanced stages of oncology require the removal of the affected organ with adjacent lymph nodes. However, cancer cannot be cured using only surgery. The specialists of the medical facility also use additional conservative methods: chemotherapy, radiation therapy, chemoradiotherapy, hormone therapy, etc. A particular treatment regimen is developed at the interdisciplinary tumor board with the participation of gynecologists, oncologists, radiologists, radiation therapists and other doctors. An integral part of the therapeutic process is work with a psychologist.

The department's medical team successfully copes with the treatment of benign gynecologic diseases. Endometriosis, adenomyosis, uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts are treated here. At the early stages of endometriosis, drug therapy is used, and in more serious cases, the patient requires a laparoscopic intervention to remove the pathological foci. The department uses many modern treatment methods: taking a complex of medications, endoscopic enucleation of uterine myomas and various types of hysterectomy (TLH, LASH, LAVH, VH). When an ovarian cyst is detected in a woman, follow-up monitoring in dynamics is often sufficient; if the pathology does not progress, then there is no need for specific treatment. However, many cases still require therapy – minimally invasive intervention, endometrial ablation, and so on.

Another focus of the department's work is the treatment of various forms of urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. In case of urinary incontinence, the specialists of the medical facility primarily consider conservative treatment methods, including electrical stimulation, biofeedback, special therapeutic exercises, and pessary therapy. In advanced cases, surgery is the best treatment option. The department's gynecologists perform modern sling procedures (TVT and TVT-O) and Burch colposuspension. Conservative and surgical treatment methods are also used for pelvic organ prolapse elimination. The surgical intervention is the last-line therapy and is prescribed to a woman only if other therapeutic procedures are ineffective.

Obstetrics provides all services for monitoring the course of pregnancy, planning and childbirth, as well as postnatal care for the mother and her newborn baby. Childbirth takes place in three well-equipped and comfortable delivery rooms. If desired, water childbirth is possible. With appropriate clinical indications, obstetricians perform a C-section. During natural childbirth, doctors use various techniques to relieve pain. These include homeopathy, acupuncture, epidural anesthesia and other procedures. The department's doctors make every effort to ensure the most safe and comfortable childbirth, since the birth of a child is the most joyful event in the life of every woman.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Gynecology
  • Diagnostics and treatment of malignant gynecologic diseases
    • Endometrial cancer
    • Uterine cancer
    • Cervical cancer
    • Ovarian cancer
    • Vulvar cancer
    • Fallopian tube cancer
      • Surgery
      • Chemotherapy
      • Radiation therapy
      • Chemoradiotherapy
      • Hormone therapy
  • Diagnostics and treatment of benign gynecologic diseases
    • Endometriosis
      • Drug therapy
      • Laparoscopic interventions
    • Adenomyosis
      • Drug therapy
      • Minimally invasive interventions
    • Uterine fibroids
      • Drug therapy
      • Endoscopic enucleation
      • Hysterectomy (TLH, LASH, LAVH, VH)
    • Ovarian cysts
      • Laparoscopic interventions
      • Hysteroscopy
      • Ablation
  • Diagnostics and treatment of urogynecologic diseases
    • Urinary incontinence
      • Conservative therapy: electrical stimulation, biofeedback, special therapeutic exercises, pessary therapy
      • Surgical treatment: sling procedures (TVT and TVT-O) and Burch colposuspension
    • Pelvic organ prolapse
      • Conservative therapy: special physiotherapy, pessary therapy 
      • Surgical treatment: plastic surgery of the anterior and posterior walls of the vagina, vaginal cuff fixation, Amreich-Richter vaginal fixation, laparoscopic colposacropexy
• Obstetrics
  • Comprehensive pregnancy management 
  • Birth planning and management, including water births and C-sections
  • Postnatal care for the mother and her newborn baby
• Other therapeutic options