Department of Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Endocrinology and Pulmonology - St. Remigius Hospital Opladen Leverkusen

About the Department of Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Endocrinology and Pulmonology at St. Remigius Hospital Opladen Leverkusen

The Department of Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Endocrinology and Pulmonology at the St. Remigius Hospital Opladen Leverkusen offers the full range of top-class medical services to patients with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system, pathologies of the respiratory system, type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus, and other metabolic disorders. The department has 105 beds for the treatment of inpatients. The state-of-art technical infrastructure allows the doctors to perform accurate diagnostics and effective monitoring of the recovery process. The department's physicians successfully apply various regimens of drug therapy, and in more complex cases, they perform low traumatic endoscopic procedures. The department provides treatment to more than 4,000 inpatients annually, which indicates a high credit of trust in the specialists of the healthcare facility. The department is headed by Dr. med. Claudia Münks-Lederer.

The department's team of gastroenterologists specializes in the diagnostics and treatment of pathologies of the digestive system. The focus of the specialists is on patients with stomach and bowel diseases. With the help of video endoscopes, doctors receive scans of the mucous membrane of the stomach, small and large intestine. Video endoscopy allows the doctors to accurately diagnose many diseases. Minimally invasive surgical interventions can also be performed with endoscopes, for example, removal of benign and precancerous bowel polyps, elimination of intestinal and stomach stenosis, and internal bleeding. In the field of colon cancer diagnostics, special attention is paid to background and precancerous conditions. The department – together with the doctors from the Department of Abdominal and Thoracic Surgery – develops comprehensive treatment programs at the certified Colon Cancer Center Kplus St. Remigius Leverkusen. The goal of this center is to provide timely diagnostics and treatment.

The department also specializes in the diagnostics and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Ultrasound methods (for example, echocardiography) are used for this purpose. Ultrasound systems with color Doppler mapping provide doctors with the information on the area of ​​myocardial infarction, heart valve disease, myocardial condition, and are also the basis for planning further treatment. In addition, the department has excellent options for the diagnostics and treatment of heart arrhythmias with medications or pacemaker implantation. The department has more than 20 years of experience in the implantation of single- and dual-chamber pacemakers. The department is also competent in medical care for patients suffering from severe conditions, within the intensive care unit. The department's highly efficient medical equipment is designed to monitor patients and maintain vital bodily functions. Medical staff and a specially trained care team are at the disposal of patients around the clock.

Endocrinology is an integral part of the department's clinical practice as well. When it comes to therapy for metabolic disorders, the primary focus is on diabetes mellitus treatment, which includes drug therapy and dietary measures, as well as physical activity. Doctors in this field have received special training in accordance with the requirements of the German Diabetes Society, so they have excellent skills in providing medical care to patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. Since diabetes mellitus is an incurable disease, the goal of therapy is to maintain the patient's satisfactory health condition and prevent the development of complications. Many patients with diabetes mellitus face such a complication as diabetic foot syndrome that, without timely treatment, leads to limb amputation. The specialists of the medical facility apply comprehensive regimens for the treatment of chronic wounds in the lower limb and give recommendations for the prevention of this syndrome.

The department is highly competent in the diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract. The medical facility deals with the treatment of acute and chronic airway obstruction typical for bronchial asthma or COPD, pulmonary vascular diseases and tumors. Equipped with modern technology, the Pulmonary Function Laboratory offers a wide range of examinations, including body plethysmography, provocation tests, lung diffusion testing, blood gas analysis and other tests. Thanks to close cooperation with thoracic surgeons, patients can be treated at the Rheinisch-Bergischer Lung Center. The specialists in the field of pulmonology carry out drug therapy and perform modern bronchoscopic interventional procedures. In complex clinical cases requiring surgical treatment, thoracic surgeons are involved in the therapeutic process.

The department's main clinical activities include:

• Gastroenterology
  • Diagnostics and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases
    • Diagnostic services
      • Abdominal ultrasound
      • Dopplerography and color duplex sonography of  the abdominal blood vessels
      • Needle biopsy of the liver and other abdominal organs
      • Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (endoscopic examination of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum)
      • Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG)
      • Ileocolonoscopy (colonoscopy with endoscopic examination of the lower part of the small intestine)
      • Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
      • Brush biopsy of the bile ducts and pancreatic duct
      • Esophageal X-ray
      • Contrast-enhanced gastrointestinal X-ray (for the diagnostics of functional disorders)
      • Bowel transit time determination
      • Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography
      • Small bowel MRI (MR enteroclysis)
    • Therapeutic services
      • Dilatation for benign and malignant esophageal and stomach stenosis 
      • Treatment of esophageal varices with ligation or sclerotherapy
      • Hemostasis with hemostatic clamps or injectables
      • Argon plasma coagulation for vascular malformations (angiodysplasia)
      • Endoscopic removal of foreign bodies
      • Polypectomy (gastrointestinal polyp removal)
      • Mucosectomy / endoscopic mucosal resection (deep endoscopic polyp removal)
      • Gallstone removal (for example, mechanical lithotripsy)
      • Bile duct stenting
      • Nasobiliary tube for biliary irrigation
• Cardiology
  • Diagnostics and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias
    • Diagnostic services
      • Resting 12-lead ECG 
      • Stress ECG
      • 24-hour Holter monitoring
      • Implantation of event recorders (an implantable recording device that provides continuous ECG recording for a longer period of time in rare types of arrhythmia)
      • Echocardiography
      • Transesophageal echocardiography
    • Therapeutic services
      • Implantation (single- and dual chamber systems), including pacemaker and event recorder performance checks
      • Pharmacological and electrical cardioversion for cardiac arrhythmias (restoration of a normal heart rhythm, for example in atrial fibrillation, with drugs or a defibrillator)
  • Diagnostics and treatment of cardiopulmonary failure and pulmonary circulation disorders
    • Diagnostic services
      • Echocardiography (ultrasound examination of the heart, its valves and large vessels)
      • Spiroergometry (with a bicycle ergometer)
      • Right heart catheterization
      • Chest CT scan
    • Therapeutic services
      • Drug therapy
  • Diagnostics and treatment of arterial hypertension
    • Diagnostic services
      • 24-hour blood pressure monitoring and ECG recording
      • Stress ECG
      • Echocardiography (ultrasound examination of the heart, its valves and large vessels)
      • Renal artery duplex scanning
      • Laboratory tests for suspected secondary arterial hypertension (hypertension caused by diseases of the kidneys and other organs)
    • Therapeutic services
      • Drug therapy
• Endocrinology
  • Diagnostics and treatment of endocrine diseases, metabolic disorders with a focus on the treatment of type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus
    • Diagnostic services
      • Comprehensive diagnostics for the detection of type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus
      • Thyroid ultrasound and blood test for blood test for hormone levels
      • Laboratory diagnostics of the function of the adrenal glands, parathyroid glands and pituitary gland
    • Therapeutic services
      • Insulin therapy, including pump insulin therapy
      • Training of patients on the proper lifestyle with diabetes mellitus
      • Consultation on all aspects of diabetes mellitus management
      • Drug therapy for thyroid, adrenal, parathyroid and pituitary diseases
• Pulmonology
  • Diagnostics and treatment of respiratory and pulmonary diseases
    • Diagnostic services
      • Endobronchial ultrasound for minimally invasive lung examination
      • Pulmonary function tests: body plethysmography; lung function assessment during exercise and at rest, blood gas analysis; allergy tests; right heart catheterization
    • Therapeutic services
      • Drug therapy
      • Therapeutic bronchoscopy
      • Pleural puncture
• Other diagnostic and therapeutic options