Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand Surgery (140)

About the department

The Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand Surgery at the St. Antonius Hospital Eschweiler offers all the options of modern surgery for correcting the shape of the face and body, both according to clinical indications and at the patient's own desire. The department's range of services is complemented by surgical procedures for diseases and injuries of the hand, including replantation surgery of any complexity. The department's team of surgeons also successfully performs dermatosurgical interventions for skin tumors in the face and other parts of the body. The department began its work in 1978 and became one of the first medical facilities in its specialization in North Rhine-Westphalia. Over the years of clinical practice, the department has accumulated extensive experience, thanks to which plastic surgeons achieve excellent results. The operations are performed in two high-tech operating rooms, in compliance with all hygiene and safety standards. Many interventions are performed using sparing laparoscopic surgical techniques to facilitate rapid postoperative recovery. The department actively uses computer modelling programs that allow the patient to evaluate the result of a surgical intervention even prior to its performance. This approach eliminates the patient's dissatisfaction with his appearance after the operation and, accordingly, the need for a second surgical procedure. The Chief Physician of the department is PD Dr. med. Alexander Bach.

The team of doctors specializing in aesthetic plastic surgery is responsible for performing surgical procedures in the face and body in order to improve the patient's appearance. The department's doctors mostly have to deal with face and neck lift, surgery to reshape upper and lower eyelids (blepharoplasty), surgery to reshape ears (otoplasty), breast surgery, as well as abdominoplasty, thigh and arm lift. Liposuction and lipofilling procedures are especially popular among patients. Liposuction allows quickly get rid of unwanted fat deposits, while lipofilling serves to correct age-related changes in the face and body contours by transplanting the patient's own adipose tissue from one zone to another. In addition to interventional procedures, the department offers rejuvenating injection procedures – Botox and platelet-rich plasma injections for the treatment of wrinkles.

The department can boast of its successful experience in the field of aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery. The specialization covers breast augmentation, reduction and lift, as well as interventions to correct the consequences of partial or total resection of the breast in women with cancer. In addition, the department's surgeons perform corrective interventions for breast asymmetry and surgery to treat gynecomastia in men. Breast interventions are performed under general anesthesia, on an inpatient basis. All surgical procedures are carefully planned in advance. Depending on the specific clinical case, the doctor individually determines the optimal method for correcting the shape of the breast – using silicone implants or using the patient's own tissues (lipofilling). Nipple reconstruction can also be performed if required.

The task of plastic surgeons is not only to restore the aesthetic appearance of a particular part of the body, but also to restore its functionality. Reconstructive surgery is indicated for patients who have undergone invasive treatment of tumors, injuries, accidents, etc. In such cases, transplantation of various tissues (skin and adipose tissue, nerve endings, muscles) or microsurgical reconstruction with the imposition of vascular anastomoses are most commonly used.

The department's range of services is complemented by conservative and surgical treatment of diseases and injuries of the hand. The hand has a complex anatomical structure, and therefore surgical procedures on this part of the body require special competence and experience from the surgeons. The department's medical team has many years of successful experience in the treatment of diseases and injuries of the hand of varying severity. The therapeutic options cover microsurgical operations for hand fractures, arthrosis of the wrist and finger joints, ganglion, Dupuytren's contracture, rheumatic lesions, congenital malformations, malignant and benign neoplasms of the hand.

The main clinical focuses of the department include:

• Aesthetic plastic surgery
  • Head and facial interventions
    • Face and neck lift
    • Forehead lift
    • Upper and lower eyelid reshaping
    • Ear reshaping 
    • Chin reshaping
    • Botox and platelet-rich plasma injections for the treatment of wrinkles
  • Bodily interventions
    • Breast augmentation, reduction and lift
    • Abdominoplasty
    • Thigh and arm lift
    • Liposuction
    • Lipofilling
    • Body contouring and skin lift after rapid weight loss
• Reconstructive plastic surgery
  • Removal of facial tumors with subsequent covering of skin defects
  • Reconstructive surgery after breast cancer (reconstruction with implants, autologous tissues and simultaneous breast reconstruction during cancer surgery)
  • Reconstructive surgery to correct breast asymmetry and other breast defects
  • Reduction of mammary glands in case of hyperplasia
  • Surgery for gynecomastia in men
  • Removal of skin tumors in the face and whole body (squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, etc.) followed by the correction of skin defects
  • Reconstructive surgery to correct malformations, consequences of injuries and accidents
• Hand surgery
  • Arthroscopic wrist surgery
  • Surgery for hand ligament injuries
  • Surgery for hand fractures (primary and repeated corrective interventions)
  • Surgery for tendon sheath inflammation and stenosis
  • Surgery for ganglion
  • Surgery for Dupuytren's contracture
  • Operations for rheumatic lesions of the hand
  • Surgery for aseptic necrosis of the hand
  • Surgery for hand malformations 
  • Surgery for hand neoplasms
  • Replantation surgery
• Other medical services