Vascular diagnosis in St. Franziskus-Hospital Muenster

About the department

The Innovation Center for Endovascular Medicine at the St. Franziskus-Hospital Muenster offers the full range of highly effective treatment for any diseases of the arteries and veins. Of particular interest is the endovascular treatment of aortic aneurysm, carotid stenosis, occlusive peripheral arterial disease and varicose veins. The center is equipped with two high-tech hybrid operating rooms for endovascular treatment of vascular diseases, as well as one operating room for classical open vascular interventions. The treatment can be provided both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. The highly qualified doctors of the center treat more than 3,000 patients every year, and therefore they can boast of extensive clinical experience and excellent treatment success rates. The specialists of the medical center prefer a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to treatment, therefore, in appropriate clinical cases, radiologists, oncologists, cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, nephrologists and diabetologists are involved in the therapeutic process. In addition, each patient receives an individual treatment regimen corresponding to his needs and particular clinical indications. Such an approach guarantees high-quality results even in particularly complex clinical cases. The Chief Physician of the department is PD Dr. med. Martin Austermann.

The key specialization of the center is minimally invasive (endovascular) treatment of severe aortic diseases using modern endoprostheses, endovascular therapy of severe types of circulatory disorders in the lower and upper limbs, as well as various organs of the human body, endovascular treatment of diseases of the vessels supplying the brain. The ​​competence of the medical center also includes shunt placement for dialysis access.

Since the key to successful treatment is high-precision diagnostics, the medical facility has powerful diagnostic options for the comprehensive assessment of the state of the vascular system in order to detect or exclude occlusive diseases of the arteries and veins, thromboses of the lower limbs, varicose veins, aortic aneurysms, circulatory disorders, diseases of the carotid artery and blood vessels supplying the brain, etc. For these purposes, the doctors of the center most often use such diagnostic tests as Doppler ultrasound, color duplex sonography, transcranial Doppler ultrasound, light reflection rheography, venous occlusion plethysmography, continuous wave Doppler ultrasound of supraaortic vessels, treadmill ergometry, measurement of transcutaneous partial pressure of oxygen (TcPO2) and others. Most of the diagnostic examinations are performed on an outpatient basis, and therefore the patient does not need a permanent stay at the medical center during the diagnostics. If the diagnostic results are unsatisfactory, the attending physician appoints the necessary set of therapeutic measures for the patient. The treatment of vascular diseases often requires a surgical intervention.

The operating rooms of the center, where the patients undergo treatment, are specially adapted for surgical procedures on arteries and veins. They are equipped with such modern systems as digital subtraction angiography, 3D rotational angiography device, which is indispensable for the diagnostics and treatment of aneurysms, and others. The operations are performed by experienced surgical teams, which necessarily include an endovascular surgeon, assistant surgeons, radiologists, specially trained nursing staff. The specialists of the center strictly adhere to the current clinical protocols, and therefore the risks of complications during the operation or after it are almost equal to zero.

It is worth noting that the doctors of the medical center were pioneers in Muenster and throughout Germany in performing a number of endovascular interventions. For example, the center performed the first endoprosthesis implantation for abdominal aortic aneurysm in Muenster in 1998. In 2009, the center became the first to perform the CAPTIVIA prosthesis implantation for aortic dissection, and in 2015 the endovascular surgeons of the center performed the world's first optical coherence tomography guided atherectomy. In 2003, the first hybrid operating room in Germany was opened at the Innovation Center for Endovascular Medicine at the St. Franziskus-Hospital Muenster. This is just a small number of the innovations that the specialists of the center have introduced into clinical practice.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Diagnostic options
  • Doppler ultrasonography
  • Color duplex sonography
  • Transcranial Doppler ultrasound
  • Light reflection rheography
  • Venous occlusion plethysmography
  • Continuous wave Doppler ultrasound of supraaortic vessels
  • Measurement of transcutaneous partial pressure of oxygen (TcPO2)
  • Treadmill ergometry
  • Digital subtraction angiography
  • 3D rotational angiography
• Therapeutic options
  • Aortic aneurysm treatment
    • Endovascular interventions (stent placement)
    • Classical open interventions
  • Carotid artery stenosis treatment
    • Endovascular interventions using a balloon catheter and a metal stent
    • Classical open interventions
  • Occlusive peripheral arterial disease treatment
    • Endovascular interventions using balloon dilation and stent implantation, if required
    • Classical open interventions
    • Thromboendarterectomy (reconstructive intervention)
  • Varicose vein treatment
    • Sclerotherapy
    • Laser therapy
    • Stripping
    • Endovascular interventions
• Other diagnostic and therapeutic procedures